New Telegraph

Varsity Strike: Students count losses

NAPTAN, stakeholders fume over FG’s silence

 

STRIKE

Students are already counting their losses as the indefinite nationwide strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) entered its second month, amid growing anxiety that there is no respite in sight

˜ Parents: Our children, wards are losing

˜ No going back until our demands are met – Unions

 

Students in Nigeria’s public universities are already counting their losses, amid growing anxiety that there is no respite in sight in the indefinite nationwide strike embarked on by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that has almost entered its third month.

This is as stakeholders, especially parents, expressed anxiety over the prolonged strike and the inability of the Federal Government to address the crisis with a view to resolving it and end the incessant industrial action that has continued to deride the nation’s public university system in the last three decades.

Following the indefinite closure of the university system, investigations by New Telegraph have revealed that several parents have now resorted to selling personal belongings and property with a view to sending their wards to private universities, considered not to be warped by strike challenges.

 

Given their growing anxiety among stakeholders, there is palpable fear that the continued closure of the institutions might lead to increased crime rate, and thereby compounding the already fearsome level of insecurity in the country. Towards this end, many parents,

 

New Telegraph learnt, are now encouraging their children and wards to learn a trade or vocation to keep them busy instead of being idle at home.

 

Meanwhile, the children of poor Nigerians are now crying out to the government and other well-meaning Nigerians for help over what they described as the continued shutdown of the university system by both the academic and non-teaching staff unions, including ASUU, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), and the Non- Academic Staff Union of Educational  and Associated Institutions (NASU).

 

Aggrieved by what they described as the Federal Government’s failure to resolved the protracted strikes in the university system, parents, students and other stakeholders have raised concerns and expressed shock over the seemingly silence of the Federal Government in taking proactive steps to resolve the lingering face-off with the university staff unions in order to end the disturbing crisis.

 

Their agitation is coming on the heels of lack of deliberate plans by the Federal Government and its concerned agencies to address the closure of the institutions two months after.

The parents, however, described the persistent strikes in the nation’s public tertiary education system as worrisome and expressed anxiety over the future of their children and wards. Given the ongoing strike, ASUU, it was gathered, had in the last 21 years embarked on strike for more than 16 different times.

 

Expressing apprehension over what he described as “worrisome state of Nigerian university system,” a Lagos-based legal practitioner, Oluwole Adeniyi Esq, who has a son and a daughter at the University of Ibadan (UI) and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), respectively blamed the government for the crisis bedeviling the nation’s education.

 

He particularly condemned the Federal Government’s silence in the last few weeks to address the crisis in the sector, even as he queried the attitude of the Ministers representing the Federal Government in the negotiation for behaving as if everything is alright with the university system.

 

Also speaking on the issues, a mother of four, whose daughter is a 100-Level student at the University of Lagos, Mrs. Idowu Oluwakemi, flayed the government for its

 

continued silence about the ongoing strike, and wondered what could be in the mind of the government now that the children are at home perpetually.

 

Like several other parents, Mrs. Idowu, a petty trader, who amid glowing fear that the strike might linger for a longer period as it was the case in 2020, however, told New Telegraph that she had to enroll her daughter at a hair dressing saloon as an apprentice to learn how to make hair and make-up artistes so as to keep her busy.

 

The President of the National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), Alhaji Danjuma Haruna, in an interview with New Telegraph, however, flayed the government’s posture in resolving the crisis.

 

He expressed regrets over the lingering strike, which he described as too much for the country to bear any more, and appealed to the Federal Government to address the crisis in the university system without further delay so as to allow the children to return to school.

 

He, however, bemoaned the current silence by the Federal Government and its refusal to hold talks with the unions with a view to resolving the crisis; regretting whether this is how they will continue to feel unconcerned and allow the children to waste away at home. Danjuma, who spoke on phone with New Telegraph, also said: “This is worrisome.

 

The government, as the organ that decides the position of a nation’s education system, should consider our plight as parents and that of our children. Our children and wards are losing and we should not continue to keep quiet.

 

“There is every reason for the  children to become more aggrieved for over staying at home. The government talked about negotiation with the striking union, but nothing has happened. We are worried as an association and parents.”

 

NAPTAN President, who reiterated that all ASUU is asking for is the improvement of the university system and better learning environment for our children, however, pleaded with the government to address the demands of unions for peace and stability to reign in the system.

 

On the lingering face-off and the apparent refusal of the government to address the logjam, a Lagos State University (LASU) don and former Dean School of Transport and Logistics, Prof. Samuel Odewumi, has expressed disappointment that the government is neither ready, nor bothered about the strike nor the need to improve the university system.

 

He stated that what was paramount to them presently is not education or the future of the children, but the coming elections and who becomes what in 2023, saying politics is now adversely the main focus of the political leaders.

 

The don, who insisted that if the students and parents were anxious over the strike and concerned over the attitude of the government towards the strike, they should demonstrate it, speak up and act on it.

 

The lecturer said that parents and students should not leave the struggle for the redemption of the nation’s university education to ASUU alone, if they are not ready to pay commensurate fees for the tertiary education.

 

The don further argued: “Imagine what we lost to importation of impure petroleum products into the country and how nobody has been punished for such a monumental error.

 

You know the money lost on that is many times more than what ASUU is demanding. “Besides the funding issue, what about the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) salary application that will not cost the Federal Government a dime to adopt?

 

Indeed, it will save the Federal Government hundreds of millions of naira that the government is currently spending on the IPPIS, a borrowed foreign payment application that is terribly unfit for our university system,” he added.

 

Therefore, Odewumi, who pointed out that ASUU, had done all the spending on the development of the UTAS application, noted that a government that is responsive and serious about local content/efforts, would have jumped at the efforts of ASUU in developing the indigenous UTAS payment application for university system, and not to work against it.

 

“But, because some civil servants and politicians are having a rip off on contracting foreign application   they will never want to lose that by accepting UTAS application developed by ASUU,” he stressed, adding that if the Federal Government accepts the UTAS application today, the crisis challenging the university system will more than half solved, and I can personally state that ASUU will definitely have a rethink on the strike.

 

Meanwhile, as the strike entered its 58 days today, ASUU is accusing the Federal Government of nonreadiness to address the crisis, and vowed not to return to work following the government’s failure to resolve the lingering face-off between it and the university lecturers’ union.

 

In fact, administrative and academic activities were finally halted in the university system, when two weeks ago, members of the non-teaching staff unions, comprising the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) withdrew their services to completely paralysed the entire system.

 

The unions, under their Joint Action Committee (JAC), like their counterpart, ASUU, also cited the refusal of the Federal Government to implement the various agreements reached with the unions.

 

The SSANU President, Comrade Ibrahim and the General Secretary of NASU, Prince Adeyemi had in a letter given the Federal Government up till March 27 to address its demands or face an initial two-week strike.

The JAC of the two nonteaching staff unions in the letter titled: “Looming Industrial Action and Notice of Warning Strike,” recalled the contents of the MoU and MoA reached with the Federal Government on October 20, 2020 and February 25, 2021, respectively and concluded that the government had not been sincere with the implementation of the agreements.

 

However, the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU had on February 14, declared a four-week roll-over total and comprehensive strike, calling on all lovers of education to join the struggle for a greater Nigerian university system.

 

Again, the four-week strike was extended by two months on March 13 by the union on the expiration of the four weeks, alleging noncommitment of the government to address the contending issues. ASUU, which is in protracted face-off with the government, had repeatedly raised the alarm over declining conditions of the federal and state-owned universities and their utter neglect over the years.

It also alleged failure of the Federal Government to implement the FGN/ASUU 2009 Agreement signed 13 years ago, as well as full implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Action (MoA). According to the union, the provisions of the agreement are partially implemented, while the conditions of service of academic staff, funding and university autonomy continue to be eroded in all campuses.

ASUU’s contending issues include non-deployment of University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) in place of the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) payment policy being foisted on the system by the government; non-release of the White Papers of Visitation Panel reports on universities; non-mainstreaming of the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) into the annual federal budget as contained in the MoU and MoA signed with the Federal Government; non-payment of EAA to members of ASUU-OAU; proliferation of state universities; victimization of ASUU members in state universities; and JAMB’s encroachment into into university autonomy, among others.

However, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, insisted that the government had already met some of the agreements, and that the union had no reason to embark on any form of strike.

Towards this end, the Federal Government reconstituted a new Government Negotiation Team, led by Emeritus Professor Nimi Briggs, to renegotiate the MoU and 2020 MoA signed with ASUU with a view to ending logjam.

 

But, the leadership of ASUU, led by its National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has vowed that the union would not have anything to do with the reconstituted committee, accusing the Federal Government of “merely playing to the gallery” after the issues had been vigorously discussed and agreements reached and signed by the two parties.

 

“ASUU will not relent in its historic responsibility of advocating for an improved university system because it holds the key to our collective prosperity and a better future for our children and our children’s children,” the union said. ASUU National President told New Telegraph that the leadership of the union had since not been contacted or met for talks or negotiation by the Federal Government, who has not shown any serious concern to end the protracted strike.

 

Osodeke told New Telegraph that the union was forced to extend the industrial action that has since disrupted academic activities in the federal and state universities in March 13, due to deliberate action of the government to shut its doors against ASUU or to hold talks with the union to address their demands.

 

But, while the disruption caused to the university system had not been addressed, the SSANU and NASU, which two weeks ago also declared a two-week warning strike, alleging the refusal of the Federal Government to implement the agreements reached with the union since 2020.

 

This is even as the polytechnic lecturers, under their umbrella union, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) have also issued a one-month ultimatum to the Federal Government after which the union is set to declare a nationwide industrial action that will also paralyse academic activities in the polytechnic system should the government fail to implement agreements reached with the union.

“The government has not contacted us in the last few weeks over the strike,” Osodeke stressed, saying that after the expiration of the ongoing two-month strike, the union would meet to decide on the extension of the strike for a longer period, if nothing is done by the government to address its demands.

 

Meanwhile, Ngige has said the government had decided to apply the “No work, No Pay” policy in compliance with Section 43 of the Labour Law, even as he insisted that the actions of the unions amounted to “false leave” and a declaration of forced holidays for students. “Anybody on strike now will not be paid in consonance with Section 43,” he threatened.

But, ASUU President, however, noted that this would not be strange to ASUU, saying ASUU is ready and would apply “Do No Work.” He further explained that ASUU is different from other unions and should not be threatened with such a policy, adding: “ASUU is different from other unions.

As lecturers, we will only start from where we stopped anytime the government is ready to address our demands for the strike to be suspended.

 

They tried this no work no pay with the doctors and you can see what happened as many of them have left the country in droves. Today, we have a ratio of one doctor to over 600 patients. This should be a concern to any responsive government.

“Let them try it, like the doctors, the best brains will leave the university system. ASUU is not a roadside union and it is better the government should understand this and not treat the union as such. “Again, at the end of the eightweek strike, and if nothing is done, we will meet and extend the strike.”

Also, expressing SSANU and NASU regrets, the Joint Action Committee of the unions condemned the attitude and lack of concern the Federal Government has continued to show towards the development of the university system.

SSANU Vice President (South- West), Abdussobor Salaam, in a chat with New Telegraph, flayed the government over its continued silence about the strike, saying: “If we (SSANU and NASU) called a strike and gave the notice over a month and till date, there has been no reaction or response whatsoever, it shows the level of contempt and disdain the Federal Government and its agencies have for university non-teaching staff.

“How can unions give notice of strike and for over a month, no response and you expect that union not to proceed with its action?”

Salaam, therefore, urged the government to address the concerns of SSANU and NASU, even as he called on stakeholders to prevail on the government to dialogue with the unions and act accordingly on the issues in contention so as to end the strike and allow the students to resume.

 

“We are equally parents as others and we are pained by the state of affairs of our university system and the students,” he said, stressing that the unions would not suspend the strike until their demands are met by the government.

 

But, when contacted on what the National Universities Commission (NUC), an agency of the Federal Government is doing to end the ongoing impasse, the Deputy Executive Secretary (DES Administration), Dr. Chris Maiyaki, simply said “meetings are ongoing by the government negotiation team with the unions in order to end the strike, and that anything I say on the matter might be counterproductive.”

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