A salute to gallantry and the struggle for social justice, By Chris Antigha

On 6 August, 2024,  one of many icons of our battle handed away and was buried on 28 December, 2024. The life and instances of Comrade Amah Thomas Amah, having related to him for over 4 many years, might finest be contextualised as that of a employee, scholar activist, commerce unionist and journalist, in addition to a political activist and group chief. In all these endeavours, one can safely say that since our assembly on the College of Calabar (UNICAL) within the early ‘80s, our paths have inexorably crossed whereas working and serving the reason for the working folks.

By the early Eighties, the College of Calabar was a beehive of actions and controversies. Issues couldn’t have been completely different, given the truth that the Vice-Chancellor at the moment, Professor Emmanuel Ayandele, was thought of Spartan in his bid to construct the brand new faculty in a sure method, however was additionally very controversial, and so was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Okon Uya. Added to this was the colourful scholar activism led by the Motion for Progressive Nigeria (MPN) and the ideological ferment hovering across the faculty within the Calabar metropolis. This ambiance featured people just like the erudite Marxist scholar, Professor Eskor Toyo; Dr Bene Madunagu, a feminist socialist and one of many founders of Girls In Nigeria (WIN); and her partner, Dr Edwin Madunagu, a Marxist mental and distinguished newspaper columnist; in addition to Comrade Bassey Ekpo Bassey, a famend journalist and political activist.

Professor Ayandele, the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the college, who constructed the varsity from scratch and recruited the early educational, technical and administrative workers after the varsity grew to become autonomous in 1975 from the College of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), was credited with setting the varsity’s philosophical tone and its excessive requirements. However the Professor of Historical past, who amongst others, had been accredited with championing indigenous and African historiography as a technique of vital pondering, was a beleaguered man, who was not very completely happy. On the top of his frustration, he had declared that Cross River State, because it was then, was “an atomistic society in perpetual battle with itself.” Ostensibly, this was to explain the squabbles within the faculty among the many then ethnic teams within the State, comprising the Ibibios, Annangs, Efiks, Oron and the Ogoja folks of the northern a part of the State. Amidst this controversy that didn’t endear him to the folks was the Oronphobia phenomenon that exacerbated the disaster, with Professor Uya because the fulcrum. Underling this hullabaloo was the case that the recruitment course of had supposedly favoured the Oron individuals who dominated the professorial and administrative cadres.

It was on the top of this ethno-political conundrum and ideological flourish that I met Comrade Amah in January 1980 within the Educational Division of UNICAL. Whereas serving as a clerk, Amah was an govt officer, (EO). Our boss was Mrs Margaret Edet Uya, daughter of the primary indigenous Inspector Basic of Police, Louis Edet and later, spouse to Professor Uya, the then DVC. Our boss was a workaholic, setting excessive requirements, and a stickler for self-discipline, with a mixed sense of understanding and excessive cultural values. Regardless of being comparatively younger, beautiful and coming from a privileged background, she displayed excessive sensitivity and maturity in dealing with workers issues. It was not a shock that in later years, she attained the highest job of Registrar of the college.

Nevertheless, in Amah she definitely discovered her match and collaborator. As our instant supervisory officer, Amah might finest be described as an overachiever, who was methodical and centered. He was a visionary chief who was hands-on and believed in collective management. Amah had a tremendous popularity of not trying drained, bored, ruffled or confused, irrespective of the circumstances within the workplace. There certain have been many situations, given the character of the work with college students, that will ship many by the roof. However the unwritten mantra within the workplace, effectively exemplified by Amah and our boss, was, ‘be cool’ irrespective of the provocation from the usually complaining younger adults.

The Educational Division, a unit or directorate within the Registrar’s workplace, and thought of the engine room in most universities, was concerned in admissions and calculations and the discharge of scholars’ outcomes. Within the course of it additionally dealt with what was thought of “JAMB casualties.” These have been college students who had admissions, however didn’t have full outcomes to make supposed excessive profile programs corresponding to drugs, regulation and political science, amongst others. Moderately than miss out on the admission, they have been counselled to take up different programs that will match their {qualifications}. Not expectedly managing college students present process this emotional trauma was no imply process.

At first, we ran a slightly carefully knit, slim and efficient administration with most workers being usually overworked and burdened up. It was not about coming to work by 8 a.m. and going by 4.p.m. It was about delivering in your project in document time to satisfy the exigencies and dynamic deadline of the educational system, notably at peak instances. Due to the transformational management espoused by Mrs. Uya, however virtually carried out by Comrade Amah, the work went on seamlessly, regardless of the typically uncommon closing hours. There was definitely no uninteresting second. Of point out right here to the sleek working of the unit, have been two hyperactive senior clerks, Sunday Ufot and Prescott (fondly referred to as). We have been later joined by different new staff, distinguished amongst them being Little John, affectionately referred to as as he was bodily challenged in top with a boyish mien, jovial with bulging abdomen, however a prodigious mental, having been employed with a Grasp’s diploma. Of notice was that each one employees within the unit have been fiercely members of the unions.

Regardless of the workload, Comrade Amah had launched me to Malabo the place the male college students’ hostels have been primarily positioned for lunch and binge on contemporary palm wine. Right here, the scholars have been overly heat at our presence, apparently given our official interactions within the workplace and infrequently compete in providing invites to quite a few events each on and off campus.By the way, earlier than associating with the duo of Chris Mammah and Kayode Komolafe on the stage of the Patriotic Youth Motion of Nigeria, (PYMN), a nationwide physique of all socialists teams on campuses, we had the uncommon privilege of engaged on their exams outcomes at UNICAL once they have been college students. Whereas Mammah was a one-time President of the Nationwide Affiliation of Nigerian College students (NANS), and later a famend journalist and writer, Kayode was the chief of the Motion for Progressive Nigeria (MPN), a socialist scholar motion in UNICAL, and at present an impressive leftist columnist at ThisDay newspaper. We additionally had the chance in engaged on the recordsdata of a distinguished journalist at Come up Information, Reuben Abati, and Sonny Anyang, a distinguished Economist and one time Commissioner in Akwa Ibom State, amongst others.

Having not labored in an organised company setting earlier than as my nascent expertise have been stints as a dockworker in Warri wharf and a contract reporter on the Nigerian Observer, courtesy of Jake Orife, the then Bureau Chief of the newspaper in Calabar, my brief however eventful sojourn in UNICAL with Amah had large impression on my working life, together with relations with employees. It definitely underscored working within the Labour motion in later years the place uncommon working hours, teamwork, candour, perseverance, collective management and coolheaded angle have been defining traits.

The second encounter with Comrade Amah was on the stage of scholars’ unionism. Nearly on the identical interval, we had each left to return to high school. Whereas I went off to UNN and have become a number one scholar activist, Amah gained admission to review Philosophy at UNICAL the place he was elected the President of the College students Union. For a earlier close to high bureaucrat within the college to be broadly accepted by college students to steer them could be thought of unusual, however within the circumstances it epitomised the management qualities of Amah and the constructive providers he had rendered to the scholars as an officer working within the Educational Division. As a employee, he was extremely principled with zero tolerance for injustice, and would usually exit of his strategy to struggle for these members of workers or college students thought of unfairly handled or oppressed by the college authorities.

The qualities of Amah and his contributions to the battle as a scholar chief, have been lucidly attested to by a former President of the Nationwide Affiliation of Nigerian College students (NANS), Lanre Arogundade, at present an activist Journalist and Govt Director of Worldwide Press Centre (IPC). Based on him,” given the principled stance on points affecting college students’ welfare and the working peoples as President of the College of Calabar College students’ Union in early ‘80s, Amah was entrusted with the December 1983 College of Jos Conference of NANS which produced me as President, regardless of fierce opposition by the Federal Authorities (civilian). Comrade Amah’s braveness and knowledge ensured their defeat, and we by no means ceased to recall and relish that battle that induced us to sweat within the Plateau chilly. It was a banner he proudly and deservedly held, whilst he joined us to withstand training commercialisation by the army.”

As indicated above, NANS Conventions have often been extremely controversial and delicate, given the overarching curiosity of the federal government to seize and management its management (as it’s doing now). The emergence of the management of NANS, notably the President and Basic Secretary, which was largely a product of PYMN members, pitted the socialists and progressive college students towards authorities supported candidates. To be the Chairman of NANS Conference means you haven’t solely to be principled and brave, you have to be completely trusted to not promote out or buckle below state strain. Although Amah was not recognized to have belonged to the mainstream socialist group on campus, he was a member of the coed Reggae Motion and related to the Directorate of Literacy – a Calabar socialist vanguard that amongst different issues, performed weekly instructional actions for commerce unions and their employees. Amongst its conveners have been Prof. Eskor Toyo, Bene Madunagu and Edwin Madunagu, Bassey Ekpo Bassey, Ebony Okpa, a frontline Commerce Union chief and James Crentsil, a political activist and Akpan John, an activist Journalist and in addition a member of the Reggae Motion, whose members have been additionally leaders of the campus Nigeria-Soviet Friendship Affiliation. Different budding members within the ever evolving socialist teams in Calabar then have been: Argmore Ebube, Professor Princewill Alozie, James Ibor (Esq), Nse Paulinus, Alphonsus Eka, Asim Ita, Angela Davies, and Felix Ekpenyoung.

Although the Reggae Motion is famously recognized by its Rastafarian philosophy of non secular awakening by songs of worldwide peace, hope, unity and love, its pan-Africanist tendencies and political resistance of anti-imperialism and struggle for social justice was finest practiced on campuses, and have been usually companions with most radical college students’ motion within the battle for social justice. Distinguished amongst progenitors of the Reggae Motion then was late Comrade Chima Ubani who was President of the UNN college students Union and later Professional-democracy activist and Basic Secretary of the Civil Liberties Organisation, (CLO).

The third encounter with Amah was within the Commerce Union Motion within the early ‘90s. Whereas I labored on the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) – Amah was among the many crop of former scholar activists employed to work with Comrade Sani Zorro who was then President of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ). Different former activists who joined Zorro have been: Chom Bagu, Tom Adanbara, Ben Edherue, and Akpan John in addition to Bayo Bodurin. The emergence of Comrade Zorro as President of NUJ was the initiative of the New Development, a strain group inside the NUJ that got down to radicalize the union and strengthen the defence of the rights of Journalists. Although largely Lagos based mostly, it defied regional boundaries within the management of the NUJ by supporting Zorro (a Northern Journalist based mostly in Lagos) towards his opponent from Kano. Amongst these behind this revolutionary pattern within the NUJ have been, Owei Lakemfa, Kayode Komolafe, Ladi Lawal, Richard Akinola, Lanre Arogundade, and Tunji Bello.

With a group of burgeoning activist journalists on the union Secretariat that created a hub of advisers to the NUJ management, capability constructing and principled defence of the rights of Journalists had momentarily held sway and these underlined Amah’s Journalism profession and work on the NUJ. In our discussions on the commerce union motion, he was recognized to be very keen about employees’ training and organising Journalists to understand their function as commerce unionists versus solely seeing themselves as professionals. He was of the view that given the poor pay and the close to absence of sustainable Situation of Service within the media institutions, there was an pressing want for Journalists to organize themselves by employees training for acceptable expertise in negotiations and collective bargaining in addition to organising for commerce union actions. Nevertheless, on the exit of Zorro and the appearance of Boni Iwuoha who took over from Ladi Lawal as President of the NUJ, the times of those progressive cadres have been numbered. They have been both weeded out or annoyed out of the NUJ Secretariat ostensibly for supporting the previous President.

Our paths crossed once more within the political enviornment on the ushering in of civilian rule. Whereas Amah later took up a job as Protocol and Liaison Officer with the federal government of Governor Obong Victor Attah of Akwa Ibom state, I used to be Secretary to the NLC Political and Civic Schooling Committee and later, Nationwide Secretary of the NLC Nationwide Political Fee. Regardless of the social gathering inclination of the governor, Amah was nonetheless very fervent concerning the abysmal state of the working folks and the necessity to deepen the battle for social justice. We had usually met in a gaggle and had strong political discussions on the state of the nation with concentrate on the socio-economic travails of employees and the working folks below civilian authorities and the necessity for a Third Drive. Out of political incompatibility and frustration with the federal government of Godswill Akpabio the then governor of Akwa Ibom state, Amah had left the social gathering or grew to become much less energetic in politics to focus on local people growth. The product of this new endeavour was the founding of Mboho Akparawa Ibibio, a socio-cultural organisation that held authorities accountable and made unbelievable impression on empowerment and governance in Akwa Ibom State.

Given his antecedents as a employee, scholar chief, commerce unionist, political activist and group chief, Comrade Amah T. Amah, in the middle of his life , had remained gallant and true to the beliefs of social justice and made large contributions and sacrifices within the battle of the working folks.Adieu, Comrade!

Chris U. Antigha, a former deputy basic secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) was additionally a member of the Human and Commerce Union Rights Coordinating Committee of ITUC-Africa.