ASUU & ASUP Strike: A Comatose To Our Educational Sector -By Okanlawon Uthman

I hypothesize when the federal government would preferably honored the education sector of ours in this country called Nigeria because nothing has been holistically done to this quagmire bewildering ranging from the dichotomy between the HND(Higher National diploma ) and BSC. (Bachelor f Science) been a decade it has being reading in the House of Assembly without implementing the bill after several thought of reading in the house and the industrial actions the associations always eager to embarked on.

Nevertheless, a deaf/dumb man can strictly highlight the implications the indefinite strike this universities and polytechnics associations always embark on for it looks like a counter-productive aspects whereby the federal government align with the Academic staff union of university and Academic staff union of polytechnic.

When will the federal government honored its own agreement with the Academic staff of public universities in Nigeria? When will the Academic staff to think out of the box called industrial action that has factually paralyzed academic activities in Nigeria? When will all government at all levels pay attention to robust investment in education in the country beyond meretricious declaration of emergency on education? When will the authorities understand that there is a correlation between quality in education and spate of development? Finding lasting answers to these questions should be part of the issues that should dominate discussion points on politics and development at this time they are lobbying for a position at government levels. The nation should be tired of incessant strikes that have not solved any problems of education and development in Africa’s most populous nation.

It is surreptitious that a string of strikes has racked Nigeria and various government agencies have resorted to trading accusations with the labour unions as to who is at fault erstwhile the latest on-going strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The damage done by these incessant strikes has been unquantifiable.

Much as it is a thing of shame that the Nigerian Government routinely signs agreements that they have no intention of honoring, the other part of the problem is that our labour laws are such that the government is sometimes handicapped and most of these agreements are entered into under duress with the labour unions holding the entire sectors they control hostage. The current industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) did not come as a bombshell given that the Union is virtually on standby to go on strike at the least provocation on account of the myriad of endemic problems plaguing the university system.

Resolving these protracted issues is what the government should endeavor to address once and for all to save the country from further embarrassment. The future is unalterably tied to education. This has repeatedly noted that only nations that do not want to develop would toy with proper education of its people, especially in this age of disruptive technologies that drive innovation and development. Industrial action is not the best option because of its collateral damage. The students lose. What about the society? The future is mortgaged in avoidable strikes. In the end, no one wins. The educational sector is not made up of only tertiary institutions whilst recent studies indicate that one of the problems facing our nation is the over-reliance on tertiary education, which is in any case substandard.

ASSU and ASUP need to be innovative and quick-witted at this time, they too need to learn new deals, unlearn anachronism and relearn new strategy for engagement in century. A situation where all the universities go on strike at the same time and paralyze education is totally unacceptable. They need to get cracking with restructuring of the system of governance in the academia; this is catastrophic censure that they have to fight for. I
t is adverse that efficient running of the varsities has been jeopardized; there is no sacrosanct academic calendar; low quality graduates abound; no student loan scheme to assist indigent students. More important, there is no evidence of serious investment in the universities that private and public sectors keep establishing. Since we have been subjected to decades of continued re-colonization under alleged democracy in which all that the ruling circles have been regrouping among themselves in their various factions called political parties. The institutions are already paralyzed.

Nigerian universities have become disreputable for producing graduates that cannot even converse in proper English language much less display proficiency in whatever field they have been issued degrees in. This boils down to the lack of basic framework. Nigerian lecturers must embrace their place as architects of the future and do all they can to impact on their students in the best way they can. This might prove difficult because some of the lecturers are products of the Nigerian university system and half-baked graduates themselves but nothing prevents an individual from developing his or herself through personal effort. Nigerian lecturers must stop playing to the gallery and concentrate on making judicious use of the facilities they have already been provided before blaming their failure on a lack of infrastructure. They are quick to compare themselves with lecturers in the developed countries but they fail to understand that in those countries lecturers do not seize every opportunity they can to miss classes and abdicate their duties as we see in the Nigerian universities.

Certainly, lack of commitment on the part of government is the root of the unending crisis. Otherwise, it is befuddling how government could be starving the varsities of funds while throwing billions on frivolous and uneconomic matters, a thwack on the stakeholders. The current industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) did not come as a bombshell given that the Union is virtually on standby to go on strike at the least provocation on account of the myriad of endemic problems plaguing the university system align with the agreement the federal government failed to oblige to. ASUU is right towards seeking for enhanced funding but that should not make all the universities to be going on strike all the time. This is destroying the education system and they should think out of the box at this time.

In lieu of this, political leadership appears anti-intellectual. Most nations do not depend on mineral or natural resources; they depend only on their human capital. This can only happen where education quality is given priority attention in terms of investment, not just funding. The way all the state actors treat education in this country is deplorable. They need to renew their minds, invest in and respect teachers. They should not denigrate them. If we must revolutionize the educational sector, analysis that we must as a matter of crucial importance start from the primary school level where the basic framework is imparted. A nation without notion, vision and mission.

Meanwhile, February 7, has been declared free day as memorandum has been officially released towards to re-sit for the negotiations. The question is “Are we also lazy in terms of the imbroglio of our education sector”?. A four years course turns to 6/7 years course, who is to be blame?.

Okanlawon Uthman writes,
Eminentpen@gmail.com
08162210221