ASUU threatened another strike

The threat of another strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is both unfortunate and unwelcome. In a recent statement, ASUU claimed that the government had been a serial defaulter in honoring agreements reached with it since 2009. As a result, the union’s various branches declared work-free days for members to mobilize and educate the public about the strike’s justification.

ASUU has had squabbles with the federal government since before 2009. The data from the last 20 years or more is not encouraging. Its most recent strike, which took place in 2020, lasted nine months and caused great distress to students and their parents. In November 2021, the union, again, gave the Federal Government three weeks to address its demands. It suspended the planned strike only when the government paid N22.1 billion earned academic allowances and released N30 billion of the N220 billion tranche of the 2009 revitalization fund to the universities.

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The major issues have always revolved around the welfare of academic staff and better funding of public universities. Most universities, for instance, do not have video conferencing facilities, interactive boards, and well equipped, modern libraries and laboratories. Hostel facilities and lecture halls are grossly inadequate and the available ones are dilapidated. In some of the hostels, over 10 students squat in one room.
On welfare, ASUU had asked for the restructuring of the salary structure of lecturers and settling arrears of salaries. It also asked for the non-implementation of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS). It has an alternative which it calls University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS). We had expected that after the long strike of 2020, the Federal Government would quickly attend to the demands of the union. It is most unfortunate that the government and ASUU have continued to go back and forth on these issues of concern.

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The danger we have here is dealing with a system that thrives on trust deficit. Judging from the past breaches of its agreement with ASUU, the Federal Government has lost the confidence of the academic staff. This is lack of good faith. Government should be an institution that should be trusted. Absence of this trust is what has resulted in the threats of strike.

Obviously, we don’t pay adequate attention to education and the bulk of blame is on the government. We wouldn’t want another round of strike this period. We are going into an election year and any year leading to a general election is very crucial. We have to be very careful. The worst is that government doesn’t communicate effectively with ASUU. If it is facing challenges in fulfilling the agreement it reached with the union, it should be bold enough to communicate with it. The future of our youths is uncertain. During the long strike in 2020, some students became so frustrated that they joined criminal gangs to cause havoc in the society. The escalation of the EndSARS protests of that year was largely because of the involvement of students who were at home then. Some of them, especially the females, suffered domestic violence and even rape.

Already, the standard of education in Nigeria is low. We should not allow it to go lower. Incessant strikes also contribute to the low ranking of our universities in the world. This is partly why wealthy parents send their children to schools abroad and to private universities in Nigeria. Government should dialogue with ASUU and fulfill its own side of the bargain to avoid another strike. Any disruption now will expose these children to a lot of problems. It is always better to dialogue than to fight. The two parties must show some restraint. You win some, you lose some. Good enough, the Federal Government appears to be showing some concern now. The President has reportedly mandated the Chief of Staff, the Minister of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Employment to step in with a view to resolving the issues at stake.

Also, President Muhammadu Buhari was said to have promised that his government remained committed to fulfilling the promises made to the union. He said so when some members of the Nigeria Inter-religious Council visited him in Abuja recently. The Council was led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar III, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Dr. Samson Ayokunle.

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We implore ASUU to still give the government more time and ask the government not to take ASUU for a ride. We must place education first before any other thing. If there are certain things ASUU can forgo to achieve peace and stability, let it do so. Government must do something now to avert another disruption in the varsity system. It is about time Nigerian patriots or statesmen intervened to resolve the lingering issues. Let all the parties concerned bear in mind that our universities cannot grow without stability.