- Bala Has Denied Me My Entitlements, Sabbatical Leave, Stopped Sendforth Organized For Me – Former VC, Prof. Garba, Cries Out
- Prof Bala Gives Former VC Conditions For Sabbatical Leave, Other Benefits
- Prof Bala Advised to Apply Wisdom, Universal Approach in Dealing With Criminals – Don
- Prof Bala Is Economical With The Truth, Not Honest – CIA
By Waziri Isa Adam
The bitter and needless fight that ensued at the peak of the recent transition period in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, between the immediate past Vice Chancellor of the institution, Professor Ibrahim Garba and his successor, Professor Kabiru Bala, has lingered on, four months after Professor Garba was forced by the pro-Bala and the Malam Adamu Fika-led Governing Council to vacate office, two months before the expiration of his tenure.
This was evident in the recent alarm raised by the former Vice Chancellor who decried that his successor, Professor Bala has denied him all his entitlements, Sabbatical leave and has also denied his friends and well-wishers venue, in the University to organize a send-forth for him, where a book that captured his major achievements was scheduled to be launched.
Professor Garba told Education Monitor that he thought since Professor Bala, who, though was not on the same page with him during the transition period, had been destined by God to be his successor, will sheath the sword and concentrate on more important things and the huge task of moving the University forward, by building on where he stopped, rather than wasting his time fighting him.
Professor Garba who has vowed not to write Prof Bala again to remind him or request from him what he knows are his rights as a former Vice Chancellor, however, advised Professor Bala to, as a leader, always show maturity and large heartedness in dealing with both imaginary and real foes, bearing in mind that whatever has a beginning, certainly has an end, and should always remember that what goes around, comes around.
Professor Garba also regretted that even though those organising the send-forth for him and the book launch, under the leadership of the institution’s current Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Professor SZ Abubakar, had to go out of their way to secure a venue outside the University, to host an event meant to honour a former Vice Chancellor, still had to extend an invitation to the incumbent, even as he had vowed not to attend.
Reacting to the former Vice Chancellor’s allegations, Professor Bala who admitted them all, however, gave his reasons for turning down Professor Garba’s 4-point requests and conditions for granting them.
Professor Bala revealed to Education Monitor that as long as he remains the Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, he can never grant Professor Garba anything in the name of entitlements as a former Vice Chancellor, and can never approve his Sabbatical leave request, untill he returned the official Car he illegally took away and the ones he illegally sold to his driver and his brother – the institution’s former Chief Internal Auditor, when he was leaving the University.
“He must fix back the all the facilities he vandalized and return all University property, especially the ones he illegally removed from the Vice Chancellor’s official residence which, regrettably and shamefully, included even the minutest and worthless things such as electronic fittings”, Prof Bala revealed.
On why he refused to grant venue for send-forth organized for Professor Garba by friends, colleagues and well-wishers and for the launching of the book that chronicled his five year’s achievements, Prof Bala said such an event which is an innovation and not a known tradition in ABU, can never be allowed or tolerated under his administration, so that it does not become a tradition.
Professor Bala who said even though he was invited by his Deputy, in charge of Administration, Professor SZ Abubakar, to attend the send-forth for Professor Garba somewhere outside the University, he had actually never intended to honor the invitation, because the celebrant is not worthy of recognition and therefore not deserving of such an honour because of his gross immoral and corrupt attitudes which he said he has zero tolerance for, but had to change his mind to attend following intervention by senior stakeholders of the University, such as Yariman Zazzau, Alhaji Mannir Ja’afaru
“But, even though I have now promised to attend the send-forth, I cannot be there and keep quite when l heard psychophants praise-singing him. I will talk and educate the public on all his atrocities and his immoral attitudes, as someone who has zero tolerance for immorality and corruption, I want to assure you that I will not condone or honour people with such characters under my administration”, Professor Bala reiterated.
But, in his reaction, the institution’s former Chief Internal Auditor, Alhaji Saleh Haladu, who is popularly called ‘CIA’, which is the acronym of his office, and who Professor Kabiru Bala alleged that was one of the two people that the former Vice Chancellor illegally sold a Car to, and which must be returned as one of the conditions of paying him his so called entitlements and for him to be allowed to proceed on his Sabbatical leave; said the Vice Chancellor is only being economical with the truth and is not honest in his claim.
The CIA wondered why should Professor Bala who sees himself as the most righteous and honest leader that the University has ever produced, resort to not speaking the truth and accusing an innocent person for an act which he was the one that committed, rightly or wrongly.
Malam Haladu admitted that he and the former Vice Chancellor’s driver actually bought cars, one each, during the tenure of Professor Ibrahim Garba, but it was Professor Bala that approved the sale of the Cars to them in his capacity as Chairman of the University Administrative Board of Survey Committee which was headed by him when he was the institution’s Deputy Vice Chancellor Administration and who gave all approvals for the sale of scrap and auctioned properties in ABU.
Speaking to Education Monitor on the feud between the former and the current Vice Chancellors, one of the leading dons and major stakeholder in the University who preferred to be anonymous adviced Professor Kabiru Bala to learn to apply wisdom and universal approach in dealing with criminals or whoever that he found wanting in the University.
“The Vice Chancellor should not spare known criminals who have brazenly defrauded the University of hundreds of millions of naira, and at the same time busy chasing shadows. Rather than keep accusing the former Vice Chancellor of stealing one thing or the other, he should please set up a committee to investigate him, and if he is indicted or found wanting the way his benefactor was indicted for misappropriating close to a billion naira belonging to the University, he should expose and punish him accordingly”, he opined.