How snake was brought to my ABU office — ex-VC

A former Vice Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Professor Daniel Iyorkegh Saror, has recounted how a prolonged dispute with members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities allegedly escalated to the point where a snake was brought into his office to frighten him into resigning.

Saror, who headed the university from 1991 to 1995, said the controversy surrounding his administration intensified towards the end of his tenure, leading to petitions, demonstrations and intervention by the military government.

The former vice chancellor made the disclosure while speaking on Trust TV’s Reminiscences programme.

He said he first learnt of a petition against his administration while returning to Zaria with his family after attending a chieftaincy ceremony in Gboko on December 31, 1994.

“I got to hear about it when I came home with my family to receive a chieftaincy title in Gboko on December 31, 1994.

“On the way back to Zaria, on the radio I was hearing how ASUU had written a petition against me. I was dumbfounded,” he recalled.

Saror said he later approached the Kaduna office of the Nigerian Television Authority to respond publicly to the allegations contained in the petition.

He said the dispute subsequently escalated, with demonstrations taking place on the university campus and the Senate Building reportedly locked during the crisis.

According to him, the disagreement was partly rooted in tensions over the management of the university system following the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme.

Saror said some ASUU members sought greater participation in the administration of universities, a position he rejected as vice chancellor.

“At the end of that agreement, they really wanted to be part of the management of the universities, which was a bit weird. And because I stood firm, they were not happy with me,” he said.

The former vice chancellor said the dispute later took an unusual turn when he learnt that a snake had allegedly been brought into his office in an attempt to intimidate him.

Asked whether the incident actually happened, Saror said, “Oh yes. It was very real.”

He identified a man named Haruna from Shika, whom he described as a snake charmer he knew, as the person allegedly brought into the matter.

“There was a snake in my office. A man called Haruna from Shika, whom I knew, was a snake charmer. They recruited him and he brought the snake.

“They wanted me to resign, but I refused. I told them only Abacha, as the head of state and visitor to the university, could remove me,” Saror said.

The crisis eventually drew the attention of the military government headed by the then Head of State, General Sani Abacha, who constituted a commission of inquiry chaired by Major-General Mamman Kontagora to investigate the unrest.

Saror said the commission submitted its report shortly before the end of his tenure and recommended his removal, despite his having already informed the university council that he would not seek another term.

He said he was nevertheless allowed to complete his tenure before handing over to Kontagora, who was later appointed sole administrator of the university.

According to ABU’s official history, Saror served as the institution’s seventh vice chancellor from 1991 to 1995, after which Kontagora became sole administrator.

Despite the bitter dispute, Saror said his relationship with the university was not permanently damaged.

He recalled that he later sold his agricultural farm in Zaria to ABU and was subsequently honoured by the university’s alumni association.

Saror said the experience, however, contributed to his decision against seeking a second term, as the level of hostility had become sufficiently intense to raise concerns about the safety of himself and his family.