By Akombo Aondona, Abuja
After weeks of brinksmanship and shadowboxing with the government in the media and elsewhere as well as nationwide consultations with the union members, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday declared a one-month warning strike to press home its demands from the Federal Government.
According to the ASUU NEC, the strike is to allow the Federal Government rethink its recalcitrant position on agreements reached with the union as far back as 2009.
“The indefinite and total strike is for four weeks. We hope government would do the needful within the next four weeks,” a member of ASUU NEC at the meeting where the decision to call the strike was taken informed the media on condition of anonymity as President, ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, is expected to address a world media conference later today.
If the Federal Government fails to do this within the 30-window of the warning strike, the ASUU source disclosed that the union would have no other option than to call out its members on an indefinite strike action.
The source at the NEC meeting added: “We just want to give the government a long rope hoping that it would see the need to avoid a total paralysis of academic activities in the nation’s universities. We are parents too and have our children in the system but we cannot watch and allow the total collapse of education in the country.
“Our agitation is in the interest of all and if the system is made better, we will all enjoy it. Prominent personalities in the country have waded into the matter but the government seems recalcitrant. Our National President would explain more when he briefs the press later today,” he said.
ASUU concluded its “NEC for NEC” meeting at about 3a.m on Monday at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). Branch chairman of the union in UNILAG, Dr. Dele Ashiru, confirmed that the Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, would address the media on Monday. Ashiru, whose note was tagged; “ASUU Press conference,” invited the media to the briefing thus: “Dear colleague, good morning Ma\Sir. Pls ASUU’s NEC media briefing now to hold as follows; Date: MONDAY, Feb 14; Time: 9.00am; Venue… Tayo Aderinokun Auditorium, Behind Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.”
ASUU’s demands from the Federal Government include sustainability of the university autonomy, which the union said the introduction of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) for the payment of its emoluments violated. The union seeks a replacement of the IPPIS with its own University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
Other demands by ASUU include the endorsement of the renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, which it said was concluded in May, 2021; release of the reports of visitation panels to federal universities and distortions in salary payment challenges; funding for revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowance, improved funding of state universities and promotion arrears.
State Varsities Grumble, Polarisation, Job Loss Loom
However, while it appears that ASUU has a united front on this strike and in its face-off with the Federal Government, The Dream Daily Newspaper has learned that a huge, subterranean breaking of ranks by many state universities has occurred within the union. This schism among the academic threatens ASUU’s continued existence as a united entity and certainly makes an indefinite strike after this 30-day warning action a difficult task to pull off by ASUU as a whole.
The division in ASUU first emerged weeks ago as the union prepared its member and the public for the eventual strike. Put on the spot by Ms. Seun Oyedeji, Co-Anchor of the breakfast talk and news show, New Hub, on Silverbird Television last week on the split, Prof. Osodeke deflected the question, as he tangentially insisted that ASUU had not declared any strike at the time and had only directed its members to sensitise their students on the looming action.
According to multiple sources within ASUU in the state universities, who pleaded anonymity for fear of untoward “consequences from senior professors at federal universities who might determine our fates in term of promotion because they are our accessors for elevation into professorial cadre, and some other sanctions they could gang up to impose on our university like they did to UNILORIN for a long time. This is not really our (state universities’) fight. Most of ASUU demands only apply to us in theory. Our governors don’t implement them, so we are only dissipating energy on what will not benefit us either in the near or long terms.”
Another source stated: “Although ASUU National does not want to hear what I am going to tell you, there is a big dichotomy between us and the federal universities, though we go to battle together. The billions recently release to federal universities for earned allowance after our last national strike did not get to us, for instance. Our Visitor, who is the governor of this state (name withheld) does not pay it. Has he even paid the statutory subvention to us? Look, ASUU National only use us as canon fodders; we don’t really gain much from this struggle lately.”
Yet another lecturer source stated: “We have helped our colleagues at federal universities to obtain an MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) with Buhari. They should continue from there on their own. Yes, out of solidarity, we will down-tool for 30 days with ASUU National. But I cannot guarantee that we at state universities would join any indefinite strike. We are already battered here by our own peculiar issues like irregular salaries, non-existent funding as so on and so forth.
“Look, many state universities pay our salaries from the school fees our students pay. The salaries are paid in arrears and as I am talking to you now this university owes me four month’s salary. If we don’t admit students who pay tuition per semester we get nothing! What has ASUU National done about that? Yet our colleagues at the federal universities get their salaries as at when due. It is therefore a war in which some are well armed but the majority are not. We in the state universities would only be decimated with a sustained strike beyond this warning action. To put it simply, we here in this state university cannot embark on any prolong strike action. It is infeasible for us and I can assure you that this is the situation across several state universities in this country.”
The Dream Daily Newspaper also gathered that many vice chancellors (VC) of state universities who are groaning under the yoke of poor funding from governors have also come under pressure from the latter to keep the state universities open at all cost, or lose their plum posts.
In a lengthy interview with The Dream Daily Newspaper, one of the beleaguered VC in a state university stated on condition of strict anonymity: “This university cannot shut down for one day anymore. It is unfortunate that our colleagues in ASUU do not see these issues from the administrative and other practical, logical perspectives. I generate over 70% of overhead cost here, which we use to pay salaries. The state subvention to us is insufficient and erratic. Yet one has the university to run.”
On what is likely to be recourse of his university authorities if the 30-day strike turned indefinite, the VC stated: “It will be unfortunate but we have resolved to keep our calendar running by all means necessary. I mean we rely on tuition paid by these students to run this university; it is unheard of that a university is run on students’ fees but that is where we have found ourselves today in this university. Is any federal university running on their students’ tuition? No! So, our situation is peculiar in state universities.
“ASUU must realise that the dynamics of university funding has changed and the system must adjust to that change. He who pays the piper dictates the tune and today the momentum is with our students in this university, at least. It is both morally and legally wrong for me to take tuition from these students, from parents and then allow national labour matters to disrupt the services these students and their parents paid for. Does that sit well on your own conscience, on any rational conscience?”
Pressed further on the specific action the VC would take to keep his school’s calendar running as scheduled, the VC revealed that he might have to resort to engaging ad-hoc teaching staff. His words: “We have done our research. I am on the same page with my management staff and the reasonable sympathetic academic staff in this university. We are confident that we shall replace any lecturer whose goes with the ASUU strike with adjunct staff as qualified and as experience as those on tenured positions here, at least up to 60%. We’ll keep teaching and examining these students. We’ll graduate them by all means necessary too. My Governing Council is with me on this. My Deans, my HODs (Heads of Department) are also with me; they constitute the bulk of the Senate which meets to consider and approve results. I am confident that we can do this. We can’t continue like this.”
When The Dream Daily Newspaper pointed out to the VC that his stance might polarise the school and cause deeper divisions than the ASUU strike had caused, he quipped: “What will be will be! We’ve postponed the evil day for far too long and maybe push will soon come to shove and those who will go with ASUU will go with ASUU and those who will be on Management’s side will do so. Each will have to live with the consequences of their choice.”
Asked if the “consequences” of going against Management could mean sacking the striking lecturers in the event of an indefinite work-to-rule, the VC stated candidly: “We won’t be the first state university to do so. If you are surplus to requirement after your strike action, then why should I retain you? If the adjunct lecturers deliver as we are confident they would deliver because they are also professors, PhD holders and experienced, what superior logic is there for us to scrap our new arrangement and put you back into your tenured chair here?
“Recently, about 120 lecturers who went on strike in Kogi State University were told that their services were no longer required because their posts have been filled. They were not sacked as far as I am concerned; their services simply became surplus to requirement at that university, which is also struggling like ours here. However, I hope we don’t get to that bridge here. But I can assure you that we are prepared to cross it if we get there.”
‘ASUU Strike Rude Valentine ‘Gift’ To Us’ – Students
On a lighter note, some students who spoke with The Dream Daily Newspaper also on condition of anonymity observed that the 30-day strike constituted “an unpleasant Valentine’s Day gift from ASUU to us. Haba, ASUU! Show some love on lover’s day o,” a fresh student at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria said as she struggled to register and sign forms on Monday.
Another freshman at ABU, Zaria added: “It is not nice at all. We are new students. We are happy to be admitted into ABU. But we are not happy that we are being welcomed in ABU like this, with ASUU strike. Lectures have barely started and we have to stop for four weeks now.”
A postgraduate student in the Department of Science Education, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Akuse Sesugh, said: “This strike will affect us economically particularly, the postgraduate students. You and I know that taking postgraduate programmes at this time is not really easy from the financial standpoint. It’s unfortunate that we no longer know exactly where and when our programme will come to a climax. There is no consistency in our educational policies and programmes and this had led to the fallen standard of education in the country. It will affect our economy too which is already in a bad state. Let the Federal Government honour the agreements they had with ASUU to save our educational sector.”
Also, a student in the Department of Philosophy, Federal University, Wukari Taraba State, Mr. Timothy, S. Zakka stated: “This strike will delay our academic pursuit and calendar. It will take us more extra years to graduate. Delayed is dangerous. The strike is not healthy for our educational pursuit. It will render students idle. This will take some of our female students into prostitution and some will be impregnated, and other things like that.
“This is also giving the Federal Government a bad image. ASUU is actually worth what they are demanding for. The Federal Government is encouraging strike in this country. Let them do the needful. When two elephants fight, the grass suffers. Now we the students are at the receiving end. We have paid our school fees yet we cannot attend lectures. We are going back home now. We will start all over again whenever we’re back here. We may even forget what we have already learned because some us have to hustle to pay our own school fees.
“The Federal Government should honor ASUU demands which have been a recurrent event since 2009. Let them settle ASUU before they will consider the 2023 General Elections.”
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