What ASUU have not told Nigerians.

ASUU have not told Nigerians that the federal government in the spirit of holding up her own end of the deal, had already given them a whopping NGN200 billion between 2010-2011. What have they been able to achieve with the NGN200 billion from 2010 to date and if nothing, where is the money? They have not told Nigerians why they failed to keep their own side of the deal by providing the structures, facilities and other components embedded in the signed contract agreement. ASUU have not told Nigerians this things but they choose to go on STRIKE!

Whenever there’s a squabble between the Federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities otherwise known as ASUU, the only thing Nigerians, most especially the affected students wants to hear or see is for the government to oblige the request of ASUU so they can all go back to school. The question is, go back to school and do what?

You only struggle or fight to get back to something if that thing is worth it, operating or functioning as expected but that is not the case of Nigerian universities today. The dilapidated nature of things in our tertiary institution is not just disturbing to both local and international community but perilously harmful to our educational system. Infrastructure is in shamble; limited books in libraries and are all in outdated state; curriculum is designed never to solve any real life problems; all laboratories are without equipments; lecturers don’t go classrooms and when they do, they don’t stay up to 45 minutes, how then do you suppose the students will make it and is this the kind of system you are in a haste to run back to?

Yes the federal government entered into an agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU. But it was never a one sided agreement. There’s no agreement that’s one sided and that’s the exact reason it’s called an “agreement”, both parties will have something to offer for something to be given. The federal government agreed to provide the request of ASUU if and only if they meeting up with the standard in the blueprint brought to them. From 2010 till date, after releasing a whopping sum of NGN200 billion to them, not a single structure of development in our tertiary institutions could be seen and yet, they asked for the final release of their balance, who does such? Not even a silly billionaire would want to waste his or her money to such a lunatic drive.

A part of the agreement was a demand from ASUU herself, that all tertiary institutions in the country become autonomous. What does autonomous mean? Self-reliance, independence! That’s what it means. To further elaborate, it means that all tertiary institution in the country will have to figure out ways to fund themselves and not look up to the government for funding, if this is the case, why then are they still running to the government for funding? What have they been able to achieve with the internal revenue they generate? The only time you hear their voices is when they ask for money and not given. Have they told the general public what they did with the NGN200 billion that was given to them? Have they said what they intend to do with the remaining NGN87 billion they are requesting for? Have they explained to Nigerians why after getting as much as NGN200 billion, Nigerian universities are still in pitiable state? These are the questions will need to ask them before pressuring government to further grant their request.

Since by law, the federal government cannot throw out from the window, this UNION due to the “statutory favour” given to them by the CONSTITUTION, the only way out of this madness is for that part of the law that makes them untouchable to be removed from the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The federal government on her part have made move to carry out this action, they have prepared and sent to the National Assembly, a bill to this effect and, The Senate has gone through it and approved that it should be removed but the House of Representatives are still playing hanky-panky with it. It only in doing this, will the government be able to send them packing if they refuse to call off their strike.

If we must survive this greedy appetite of ASUU, if we really want to see changes in our tertiary institutions, we must give the government the utmost support they need to battle them. That means we must be willing to stay at home until this madness is brought to a standstill. Either they retreat and surrender, or they are force to leave.