The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to address lingering issues affecting Nigeria’s university system or face a nationwide strike. This was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the Yakubu Gown University, formerly University of Abuja.
A release on the outcome of the meeting, signed by ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, explained that the ultimatum became necessary following the persistent neglect of the education sector and the welfare of university lecturers by both federal and state governments. “If at the end of the 14-day ultimatum the federal government fails to address these issues, the union may have no option than to, first, embark on a two-week warning strike and thereafter, an indefinite strike,” Piwuna said.
The union listed areas of demands the government should address to avert the closure of the public university system again. These included the re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, sustainable funding of public universities, revitalisation of universities, an end to the alleged victimisation of ASUU members in Lagos State University (LASU), Kogi State University (KSU), now Prince Abubakar Audu University, and Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), payment of outstanding 25–35% salary arrears, settlement of promotion arrears spanning over four years, and remittance of outstanding third-party deductions.
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This is the second time ASUU would issue strike threat in the last two months. The union had in August, called on stakeholders, including the National Assembly, religious leaders, traditional rulers and students, to prevail on the federal government to avoid actions that would push the teachers to embark on a nationwide strike. ASUU made the call on the heels of protests by its members across the country, especially in federal government-owned universities. The protests affected many federal universities across the country. At the University of Maiduguri, the ASUU chairman, Dr. Abubakar Mshelia, warned on the dangers of treating intellectuals with disdain, stressing that such cannot result to meaningful progress in Nigeria.
The demands genuine and should be addressed urgently by the federal government. The poor funding of our universities is no longer acceptable. The products of our universities cannot compete with their peers abroad if the universities are not adequately funded and equipped. The government should stop paying lip service to education. The strike notice issued by ASUU should serve as a wake-up call on the federal and state governments to holistically revamp the varsity education system. The government must address the brain drain in the education sector as many lecturers are reportedly leaving the country in droves.
For instance, no fewer than 239 first-class graduates of the University of Lagos, employed as lecturers, left the institution within seven years in search of greener pastures abroad. Also, the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, lost almost 2,000 staff to better opportunities locally and globally in the last five years. Despite reaching agreements with ASUU, the federal government has been too slow in implementing them. In fact, the government has reneged in honouring some of them. The 2009 FG/ASUU agreement is perhaps the worst victim.
The strike notice by the university teachers should not be treated with levity. Efforts must be made to ensure that the impending strike is averted. At a time that the country’s university system is recovering from previous periods of crisis, positive actions should be taken to ensure that the prevailing normalcy is encouraged and not disrupted. Allowing the lecturers carry out the threat would amount to encouraging one crisis too many. Nigeria cannot afford another long period of university shutdown.
In 2020, ASUU went on strike that almost lasted one year. Between February 14, 2022 and October 14, 2022, the universities in the country were shut because of strike by the union over funding and other demands. A whole academic session was lost in the process. The strike was the 17th in the series since the commencement of the present civilian dispensation in 1999.
Each time the teachers go on strike, the academic calendar is disrupted and the nation loses. Among other negative effects, the strikes affect the period the students spend in the universities. The disruptions also impact on the standard and products of the system. Some of the students equally take to various vices and anti-social behaviours or crimes, while the parents bear the pressure of sustaining their children and wards in schools indefinitely.
There is need for adequate funding of the universities. The rot in the system has been consistent and pervasive, hence Nigerian universities are poorly ranked in Africa and beyond. The ultimatum by ASUU should not be trivialised or dismissed. The demands are legitimate and necessary for the survival of the university system.
The 14-day ultimatum by ASUU should be explored by the government and lecturers to amicably resolve all outstanding issues. Let the government avert the impending strike. The university system should be spared of another disruption of academic activities.
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