New Telegraph

The type of university we want

The interesting piece from Mr. Salihu Muhammad Lukman, the DG of the Progressive Governors’ Forum is an indication that ASUU is alone in the fight for the survival of the public universities. While he analysed the damage the ASUU strike has done to university education in Nigeria, he refused to x-ray the damage that the improper funding of the universities has done to university education. He also failed to critically evaluate the little input we had in public universities for the last 30 years.

He deliberately refused to acknowledge that it is the proceeds of the ASUU strikes that gave our public universities a semblance of what is called a university today. While finding it difficult to propose a strategy that will make the government fund education, he stated that any proposal around the introduction of tuition fees to the students, may trigger another round of protests and strikes, which may receive the active support of ASUU members. His short term solution was that both ASUU and Federal Government (FG) should produce clearly outlined sources of mobilizing the funds to implement the provisions of the December 23, 2020 agreement. He also advised his party to prioritize education and health for long term solution.

The DG is advising his party to prioritize education after five years in power. Meanwhile, on a Special Retreat of the Federal Executive Council on the challenges facing the education sector in Nigeria in 2017, the Minister of Education requested that a state of emergency be declared in the education sector.

President Muhammaadu Buhari, in his address, said his administration is determined to revitalize and effect changes in the education sector which he described as crucial to all-round national development. And the revitalization seems to have ended at the retreat.

All we can see is audio revitalization after three years of the retreat. The DG quoted these words from Kabiru Danladi Lawanti; “People have been asking me a lot of questions on the meaning of the ‘Conditional suspension of the strike’ by ASUU.

It is a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. Left to us, the strike should have continued until at least they release our withheld salaries. The level of thievery and misappropriation going on in this Buhari administration is better imagined. I never heard anywhere in our short history where a government can divert people’s salaries, but that is what these people did.” It appears the DG was particularly not pleased with the word “thievery and Buhari administration” in the statement.

But how well can you describe a government that even with the dwindling resources, has funds to sustain their luxury lifestyle and to run the most expensive democracy in the world, but has no fund for education that it described as crucial to all-round national development? As Alhaji Lai Mohammed said in August 2013 on behalf of APC, if the Federal Government reduce its profligacy and cut waste, there will be enough money to pay teachers in public universities.

The APC government was aware that they were inheriting a troubled education sector. This was obvious from their support for ASUU during the 2013 strike. That was obvious from the El-Rufai’s 62 reasons why ASUU was on strike, the Adamu Adamu’s beautiful back page column supporting the strike, the Lai Muhammed’s series of release as APC Interim Publicity Secretary supporting the strike action, etc. You would have thought that the APC-led government had an idea on how to end the strikes in public universities. You would have thought that the same government had developed a blueprint to address every single reason that is making ASUU go on strike and to permanently end strikes in tertiary institutions. But they seem clueless and only interested in grabbing power in 2015 and the 2013 ASUU strike gave them a chance to blow their trumpet.

The tone now is that the agreement reached with Jonathan’s government is not implementable. How amazing that the agreement they once supported is no more implementable. So, what were they supporting then? It is either they lack principle or Nigerian politicians generally lack principle.

You would have expected that as soon as the government took over in 2015 it will put up a committee from public universities, the government, and other stakeholders to review the NEEDS Assessment report of public universities and the 2009 and 2013 ASUU-FG agreements. And also be mandated to figure out ways to source funds for the implementation to permanently end the strikes and funding crisis in public universities.

But it wasn’t the APC-led government priority, instead, ASUU and the university systems were left alone. The union has no meaningful audience and discussion with the government from 2015 till the declaration of the ASUU-2017 strike. Sadly, the onlookers ended up blaming ASUU, not FG. An agreement was then reached, the strike suspended, and the agreement was not implemented. Consequently, led to the ASUU-2018 strike. An agreement was reached that was again not implemented and along with IPPIS enforcement on the universities, the ASUU- 2020 strike came up.

Of course, the Federal Government won’t get the blame for not implementing the agreement but ASUU. The strike is now suspended on conditions. If the agreement is not implemented by January 31, 2021, ASUU will be blamed and not FG. But come to think of it. What sort of government will allow a strike to last for nine months? Responsive government and leaders won’t let that happen. Of course, ASUU is blamed and not FG. What sort of people watch the government run an expensive democracy at the expense of education and other critical sectors and keep quiet? Unfortunately the people are not even aware of what they deserve from the government.

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