Sodiq Adekunle, Osogbo
Many doctors in Osun State are currently in a state of fear and panic over the planned sack letters they expect from Governor Rauf Aregbesola today (Monday).
It was learnt that the doctors began to panic when the news that Osun State Government has sacked no fewer than 140 members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and Non-Academic Staff Union, (NASU), in Osun State owned tertiary institutions.
According to a government source, those sacked were in connection to the ongoing restructuring of tertiary institutions in the state.
Most hit were workers in Osun State College of Education, Ila and Osun State College of Education, Ilesa.
The strike allegedly occurred barely 24-hour to a hint by Aregbesola that striking doctors may be sacked today.
Like the already sacked workers rejected their termination, the doctors have also vowed to be adamant to any sack by the government.
The doctors commenced their ongoing strike on September 28, 2015 over issues of poor working conditions and taxes, deductions for co-operatives and unions and pension scheme among others.
The doctors, through their Chairman, Dr. Suraj Ogunyemi, alleged that Governor Aregbesola had always want to sack them to employ Cuban doctors.
Ogunyemi, who is the Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association, urged the Governor to address some fundamental issues instead of threatening to sack the workers if they don't resume by Monday.
If the Governor eventually fulfils his treat, the doctors said, "Apart from going to court, we will use civil disobedience. We have now put all doctors in the South-West and Nigeria on alert.
"We will mobilise; we have the capacity to mobilise all doctors in the South-West to come and join us in Osogbo to resist all this intimidation and harassment. And all affiliate bodies in the state may join the strike; all the hospitals, public and private, may be forced to embark on the strike, to sympathise with their colleagues who are working with the state government."
Some of the doctors who spoke to our correspondent lamented that the governor wanted to reward their "years of sacrifice" with a sack letter.
She said, "It is shocking to hear the governor threaten us after all these years that we have laboured. I must tell you that many of our colleagues are already scared. I want to believe that the threat is just to create panic in most of us."
Another doctor added, "Although we have trust in our leaders, some of our colleagues are already panicking but we already assured them that the Governor won't want to dare us."
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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