StopASUUStrike: Halt Looming-devastating Industrial Dispute

 StopASUUStrike: Halt Looming-devastating Industrial Dispute

By

Prof. M. K. Othman

Over the weekend, ASUU leadership issued a Riot Act: "address all lingering labour issues in the Nigerian University System to prevent another looming industrial crisis." Nigerian academics are fed up with the government's excuses, which have only resulted in a long list of Memoranda of Understanding/Memoranda of Action (MoUs/MoAs) - 2013, 2017, 2019, 2020 - and have kept them engaged in talks over the renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement for over eight years!" This was announced through its press release. Understandably, this pronouncement was long overdue due to ongoing unrest, anxiety, and frustration across all public universities. The academics feel backed into a corner with only two choices: accept the ongoing hardships, neglect, and mismanagement that threaten the collapse of the university system, or prepare for a complete industrial strike that could last for months without salaries, forcing authorities to respond appropriately and save the system. ASUU's statement serves as a litmus test of its new leadership — whether they will follow through on their promises or become just another ineffective union, toothless bulldog.

The ASUU's statement must be taken seriously to address the worsening situation, as it states, "Feelers across campuses indicate that lecturers in Nigerian public universities are, to put it mildly, not happy. They teach students on an empty stomach. They conduct research in libraries and laboratories lacking essential electronic and physical journals, books, chemicals, and reagents. They engage with communities and agencies in rickety cars while burdened by utility bills, children's fees, rent, family expenses, and numerous other unmet responsibilities. Yet elite Nigerians are quick to blame the universities for "producing unemployable graduates and failing to initiate innovative research to solve the country's problems; our members feel forgotten, shamed, and demoralized by past and present governments."

ASUU Press statement has lent credence to the interview of Prof Balarabe Abdullahi granted to the FRI Hausa service reported in this column a few weeks ago. He said, "The extremely low pay for the lecturers in the university has made the current economic situation unbearable for most of them. A professor might come to you with tears, begging for money to buy food for his family. This is because the professor's salary cannot cover his basic needs by the end of the month. To supplement their low monthly pay and ensure their financial stability, many lecturers take on visiting lectureships at other universities. This is especially common since the government has established several new universities that lack enough staff. As a result, lecturers from older institutions teach at these new universities as visiting scholars and earn only half their usual salary. They often travel hundreds of kilometers weekly to conduct these visiting lectures. Many have died from accidents or fatigue while performing these duties, which are rarely reported. Today, many professors cannot afford to drive their cars due to the high cost of fuel; they travel on commercial vehicles and tricycles. Professors have been relegated to the lowest social class. A nation maltreating its intellectuals has a bleak future.  

For decades, the university system has been inching into the abyss of decadence due to gross underfunding, nepotism, and squalor, prompting a famous Hausa singer, Aminu Ala, to question the type of graduates our universities are producing – a credible workforce or a new set of incompetence or even thieves (masu cheto ake yaye wa ko ko beraye ake yaye wa)? The university system is a fundamental pillar upon which all other developments rely. Its neglect ultimately causes a decline in educational quality at all levels, thereby producing incompetent people to mismanage the nation.

ASUU has tirelessly worked to inform the government about the consequences of neglecting the university system on society, with little success until an industrial action was declared. Unfortunately, the last two industrial actions faced the highest levels of government insensitivity, thereby worsening the dire situation.

There was collateral damage; brain drain was intensified, students' graduation was delayed, the quality of education was eroded, and academics were legally forced to return to work through court action. Since 2022, when the industrial action was suspended, there have been uninterrupted academic sessions due to a silence as deep as a graveyard, filled with restiveness and discontent among university workers.

The resilience and patriotic spirit of the academics allow them to endure the tough university environment and work hard for peanuts. Senior academics often serve as external examiners or assessors for professorial staff at other universities for minimal compensation, which is frequently delayed for months due to the system's underfunding. The government at both the state and federal levels owes university workers huge allowances, including promotion arrears, earned academic allowances, and hazard allowances. However, the government is offering loans to academic staff. How can a debtor give a loan instead of paying his debt? The university workers need to be fairly compensated for the services they provide, along with adequate provisions for a conducive working environment.

Undoubtedly, a strike is not the best option for resolving the FGN-ASUU dispute because of collateral damage to the system with irreplaceable losses, which ultimately brings the parties to the table for dialogue. Why not opt for the dialogue ab initio? Dialogue works when two parties mutually agree with all honesty and sincerity of purpose, which the previous government lacked. The current government has the wherewithal to address the issues raised by ASUU and prevent looming industrial action from happening.  Already, ASUU's Press release quoted the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, saying, "Not again ever in this country will ASUU or tertiary institutions, trade unions, teachers, lecturers go on strike". He predicted his declaration (optimism) on the government's strategy of "dialogue, maintaining a good relationship with union heads (leaders) and meeting the demands of the unions".

All discerning Nigerians hope that the government responds to ASUU's stern warning by promptly concluding, releasing, and implementing the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed committee's negotiation report. The report was submitted to the government in December 2024, eight clear months ago, and the negotiation involved only three months of dialogue. Hopefully, the FGN's positive action will cement the Minister's optimism that ASUU's strike will be a part of our history. May God make it happen, amen.