Point of Correction in Mr. President's Interview in the September 2021 Edition of The Light Bearer
I read with considerable interest the text of the interview granted by the President of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), Reverend Professor Dachollom C. Datiri, published in the September 2021 edition of The Light Bearer, specifically on page 17 of the widely read newspaper.
While responding to the question on the suspension of the KKU license, Mr. President responded thus "Rather, the Proprietor was drawn into the issue by a distress call through the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Nanven Gambo on the 21st of June.
He called me to say that he is at the University site but he cannot go in because there is a protest and that he doesn't know what to do and if there is anything the Church can do". This is gross misrepresentation of the phone conversation that ensued between Mr. President and my humble self.
Ordinarily I would not have articulated my response to this but for the fact that the President's response was to justify the Proprietor's interference in the management of the affairs of the University, this provides me a compelling reason to do so.
George Bernard Shaw had also cautioned us to beware of false knowledge because it is more dangerous than ignorance.
Let me correct some of these misrepresentations in the President's interview.
First, it was on Saturday 19th June, 2021 I came across the text of press conference held by two Berom youth organisations (Berom Youth Movement, led by one Barr Emmanuel Mangu, and Vwang Intelligentsia led by one Barr. Emmanuel Weng). The tone of the press statements was not only threatening but also combative. I got intelligence that the two youth groups were planning to stage a protest at the main gate of KKU. I got in touch with the Gwom Rwey of Vwang to find out if he knew anything about the planned protest by some youth in his community. He dismissed the allegation as utterly false. He later sent me a voice mail of a conversation between him and an alleged youth leader. In the conversation, the Gwom Rwey was demanding to know from the purported youth leader if there was any plan by the youth to stage a protest at the main gate of KKU tomorrow Monday, 21st of June, 2021.
The purported youth leader's response was emphatically no. This was a stage managed conversation to mislead me into believing that there was no threat to peace on the campus of KKU.
I took a proactive measure by meeting the Director of SSS, Plateau State Command to brief him on threat to peace on the campus of KKU. The Director graciously deployed his men as early as 6am to take custody of the main gate of KKU. The men of the SSS conducted themselves responsibly and professionally in managing the situation.
I was already on my way to the office when some of my staff called to alert me about on going protest at the main gate of the University.
As soon as I arrived, I moved in the company of the Director of Academic Planning and one other staff , to address the protesting youth. When I sought the attention of the youth leaders, their response was, they had no grievances with the University Management and would only listen to the Executive Committee of the Church who signed the MOU with the host community.
This was the context of placing a call to the President to let him know about the demand of the protesting youth. It is therefore not true that I was unable to secure entry into the campus. It is also not true that I made a distress call for want of what to do in response to the protest by the youth of the host community.
It is not that the Vice-Chancellor deliberately reached out to the President to help in managing the situation but as a matter of compelling necessity since the protesting youth insisted on having the EC of the Church who signed the MOU with the host community to address them.
At the time of the protest,theVice-Chancellor never knew about the MOU until much later when the protest had been brought under control.
This cannot by all intents and purposes be used to justify any action that violates the NUC's Code of Corporate Governance of Private Universities. Only the youth of the Vwang community can explain why they have grievances with the EC of the Church. God bless KKU, God bless COCIN.
Professor Nanven Gambo
Vice-Chancellor, KKU Vom
12th September, 2021.
