By SIMON EBEGBULEM, DAYO ADESULU & IKENNA ASOMBA

TWO days after the news of the death of one-time President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Festus Iyayi, filtered into town, rains of eulogies have continued pour in for the don, who died in an auto-crash that happened at about 11.00am, Tuesday, at Banda village, along the Lokoja-Abuja highway.

Prof. Iyayi died on the spot, when a rear vehicle in the convoy of the Kogi State Governor Idris Wada rammed into the Toyota Hilux car with plate number ED 357 USL belonging to ASUU, UNIBEN branch, which was conveying the former ASUU boss, the University of Benin (UNIBEN) chapter and Chairman of ASUU, Anthony Monye-Emina, and two others officials to Bayero State University, BUK, Kano, where they were billed to attend a National Executive Council, NEC meeting in a bid to decide whether to call-off or continue the 4 month ASUU strike after ratifying the decisions of the 61 chapters of the union.

UNIBEN VC pays condolence

Leading other management staff yesterday, to pay a condolence visit to the family of Iyayi, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Professor Osayuki Oshodin, who addressed the wife of the deceased, Mrs. Grace Iyayi who is the Director of Personnel at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), said the news of the death came as a shock to him and other members of the UNIBEN community, lamenting that his death was even more painful due to the way and manner that he died.

The VC, whose emotions almost betrayed him, narrated that “when I heard the news, I did not believe I said there must be a mistake somewhere until I started receiving calls from all over the country. I am still in shock and honestly don’t know how to describe him now. We all knew what he stood for. A man that always speaks the truth no matter whose ox is gored. Unfortunately, there is nothing we all can do now than to pray to God for his soul and family.

“The UNIBEN community will always remember Prof Iyayi for his great contributions to the growth of the university and ASUU as a whole. May his Gentle soul rest in perfect peace Amen”.

*Late Iyayi

Senator Owie, who declared that Nigeria has lost one of its best “brains”, said “one you talk about an upright man he was one. The devil is always wicked but as Christians we must seek God’s face because he knows best. He died for the Nigerian child, he died for the education community and he will always be missed by all, even his enemies. May our good Lord and the Blessed Virgin Mary protect his family and give him eternal rest”.

A monumental loss

In his tribute, Dr. Idris Adekunle, Chairman of ASUU at the Lagos State University, LASU described Iyayi’s death as a monumental loss to the union, the entire country and the international community at large.

He said: “Prof. Iyayi’s death is a monumental loss, not only to the union and nation, but to the entire international community. We all know that this is a man who has always stood for the emancipation of the poor and the down-trodden. Prof. Iyayi was a man who always ensured that the poor and downtrodden are never denied their rights to access to quality education.

All his life, he did this even to the extent of sacrificing his life for the cause he stood for. We must not forget that Prof. Iyayi, while the President of ASUU in the 80’s fought for the provision of quality education in this country, and for a better welfare for university lecturers. In the course of this, he suffered incarceration from the then Military administration.

“Honestly, I must confess that only God can heal the pains that his exit has left on us. You need to see what the atmosphere looks like in Benin, as I speak. Everybody is unhappy, including students, lecturers, friends and well-wishers of Prof. Festus Iyayi.”

A great leader

For Prof. Florence Banku Obi, Head, Department of Education, University of Calabar (UNICAL), Iyayi will be missed as one of the greatest leaders that ASUU has ever had in the country.

She said: “Prof. Iyayi will be missed by all, because he was a great leader in the period he served as ASUU national president. We are going to miss him as the brain behind ASUU’s successful struggles for a better and quality education in the country. As I speak with you, the mood in UNICAL is absolutely sorrowful. What I can say is that may all that he stood for come to pass; may we have a listening government and I pray that stability will be restored to our education’s sector by this death of Prof. Iyayi,” adding that “the pertinent question we are asking is what is the next move. By this great loss, I don’t think anyone will be willing to call-off this strike because we are all in mourning mood.”

The immediate-past ASUU-LASU Chairman, Dr. ‘Wunmi Oluwatokin, in an emotion-laden voice said: “Prof. Iyayi was an imaginative literary writer, true patriot, consummate humanist, patient leader and very clear about how to get us out of the doldrums of our situation as a people. He symbolized the crop of astute leadership that ASUU relies on to make our education sector and indeed our Nigerian system a haven of productivity and creativity. He has fallen in the gallant battle to save Nigeria. He lives on in our hearts and in generations yet unborn. I commiserate with the Iyayis, his immediate family. But we all are his family. May God repose his really gentle, brilliant and humane soul!”

In the same vein, former Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rev. Peter Obadan, and former Chief whip of the senate, Senator Rowland Owie, have also lamented the death of Iyayi.

Hold our leaders accountable

Meanwhile, the African Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ has called on Nigerians to hold the nation’s leaders accountable for the death of Professor Iyayi.

Vanguard observed that the entire UNIBEN community was thrown into mourning, as people were seen discussing the death in groups, while skeletal activities were observed in offices. However, ANEEJ in a press statement signed by its Executive Director, Reverend David Ugolor, described the death of Iyayi as a rude shock and another sad news that make Nigerians take action to end culture of impunity that is breeding bad governance.

According to ANEEJ, the death marks a negative legacy for the nation’ leaders led by President Goodluck Jonathan in the current democratic era in the country.

“Our leaders must be held accountable for the colossal loss. The death of Prof Iyayi marks a negative legacy for our leaders led by President Jonathan in this regime. All those who makes it impossible for the likes of Prof Iyayi to enjoy the fruit of their labours will one day pay the price, if not now, certainly in the future”.

ANEEJ said Professor Iyayi in his writing do have a tough and radical stance on social-political issues in Nigeria, adding that his death is a big loss to the teaching profession and Nigerians at large.

Profile

Born 1947, in Ugbegun in Ishan, Edo State, Prof. Festus Iyayi started his education at Annunciation Catholic College (ACC) in the old Bendel State, finishing in 1966, in 1967 he went to Government College Ughelli, graduating in 1968. Iyayi left Nigeria to pursue his higher education, obtaining an M.Sc in Industrial Economics from the Kiev Institute of Economics, in the former USSR, and then his Ph.D from the University of Bradford, England.

In 1980, he returned to Benin and became a lecturer in the Department of Business Administration at the University of Benin.

He was ASUU president in 1986, but in 1988, the union was briefly banned and Iyayi was detained. In that same year he won the Commonwealth Writers Prize for his novel, Heroes. At the time of his death in a road accident, Iyayi was a member of different Nigerian literary organizations and worked in the private sector as a consultant.