President Muhammadu Buhari has called on members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to reconsider their position on the prolonged strike and resume work for negotiations to continue.
The president made the call while receiving some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), legislators and political leaders at his residence in Daura, He assured that the government understood their position and that negotiations would continue with students in lecture halls.
ASUU has been on strike since February to protest the federal government’s refusal to fulfill the agreements with the union since 2009.
Parts of the demand include the replacement of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) with the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS); the release of the reports of visitation panels to federal universities; and improved funding for the revitalisation of public universities and others.
Buhari, in a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, expressed worry that the hiatus would have generational consequences on families, the educational system, and the future development of the country.
He said the strike had already taken a toll on the psychology of parents, students and other stakeholders, throwing up many moral issues that already beg for attention.
Buhari said the future of the country rested on the quality of educational institutions and education.
“We hope that ASUU will sympathise with the people on the prolonged strike. Truly, enough is enough for keeping students at home. Don’t hurt the next generation for goodness sake,” he said.
The president called on all well-meaning Nigerians, particularly those close to the leaders and members of the association, to intervene in persuading the lecturers to reconsider their position.
Buhari said students from Nigerian universities would be faced with the challenge of competing with others in a highly connected and technology-driven workspace, and keeping them at home only deprives them of time, skill and opportunities to be relevant on the global stage.
“Colonial type education was geared towards producing workers in government. Those jobs are no longer there. Our young people should get education to prepare them for self-employment. Now education is for the sake of education.
“Through technology, we are much more efficient. We should encourage our children to get education, not only to look for government jobs,” he added.
NUPENG asks FG to act
The president spoke on a day the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) threatened to join the nationwide strike if the ASUU crisis was not immediately resolved.
The union while expressing worry and concern over the prolonged strikes by university unions, condemned what it called the “lackadaisical attitude” of the federal government towards finding a lasting solution to the crisis.
President of NUPENG, Williams Akporeha, and the General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, said the strikes by ASUU, Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) had paralysed universities for months.
The union asked the federal government to “immediately address and resolve all demands of ASUU, NASU and SSANU without any further delay to avert national solidarity actions from our members across the country.
It was reported that the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) had threatened a national protest over the prolonged ASUU strike which is now over four months.
“The rank-and-file members of NUPENG align with the NLC’s position on protest against unfortunate situation in the tertiary education sector and will not hesitate to join in the proposed nationwide strike on the matter,” the union added.
How ASUU strike is affecting us – Uniabuja students
Some of the students of the University of Abuja (Uniabuja) have expressed displeasure over the inability of the federal government and members of ASUU to reach a common ground and call off the ongoing strike.
The students, who urged the federal government and ASUU to sheath their swords and resolve the lingering issues, said their continued stay at home threatened their academic performances.
The students, in a post on the school’s Facebook account, said the strike portended great danger to the nation’s education sector.
A 400-level statistics student, Isiaka Zainab Olanshile, wrote, “It smacks of insensitivity on the part of both the government and ASUU to have allowed this situation to drag us to this sorry level of our educational development.
“My small business in school which I was using to sustain myself – selling of slides, footwear to both ladies and guys, including some of my lecturers – is almost dead.
“My appeal is for ASUU to understand that the government won’t be able to meet up with all their demands, but they should try and consider any amount given to them. As for the government, after making promises to unions, please keep your own side of the bargain.”
A 600-level medicine student, Ahmad Muhammad Bahar, said the impasse showed the government’s neglect of the education sector and the selfish interest of ASUU, as well as the general lack of concern for the plights of Nigerian students.
He wrote: “As a final year student, the strike has affected me negatively because I have plans to graduate at a certain time. My appeal to the two parties is that they should both shift ground.”
Bahar, who said he had been spending his time researching and improving his Islamic knowledge and participating in industrial training at veterinary clinics in Gwagwalada, said some students who were not business-oriented had been exposed to crime and other social vices.
Another final-year student, Khadija Muhammad Ya’aqub, said the crisis was a complete disregard for youth development.
The science and environmental education student felt bad about the strike, adding that she had yet to be assigned her final year supervisor and a topic.
She, therefore, appealed to both parties to work things out in favour of everyone.
The strike has continued despite the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who on June 22, after a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, said the end of the strike was in sight.
Students’ interest paramount – COOU VC
The Vice Chancellor of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam, Prof Greg Nwakobi, has said the institution refused to be part of the ongoing strike by ASUU in the interest of staff and students.
Speaking with journalists in Awka, the VC, who was represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Prof Osita Chiaghanam, said the Anambra State Government had been prompt in payment of salaries, providing the necessary infrastructure and enabling environment for academic activities.
He said, “Had the state university participated in the strike action and at the end of negotiation an agreement is reached, the federal government implements immediately while we at the state universities will have to meet the governors to renegotiate for the implementation.
“We have studied the system, understood it and at every point in time we know how best to present our matter to the governing council and to the appropriate authorities for solutions.”
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