ASUU Strike Saga: Still On The Matter -By Okanlawon Uthman

It is longer new to us about the ASUU saga pilfering to the casual daily headlines of Nigeria newspaper about the industrial actions to be embarked on if their negotiations are not met after averting the strike in 2021 whilst the saga has become a cankerworm eating deeply the education sector. Nigeria’s education sector has over the years been grappling with many challenges, thus the call on governments at all levels to declare a state of emergency in the sector has continued to gain impetus. A multi-frontal approach is required to tackle the various factors militating against the achievement of the nation’s educational objectives. The Federal Government and other levels of governance in our nation including the various agencies must collaborate to arrest the ugly trend in the education sector.

Are we still sane towards this our educational sector? When will the federal government and stakeholders think out of the box called industrial action affecting the Nigerians students? When will the government meet ASUU negotiations? When will the Reps, Ministers, and the politicians make our education sector mediocre? Is the upgrading of polytechnics to Universities is meant for proffering solutions to the problems plaguing our universities/education sector as a whole?

I can vividly remember that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has made an embargo towards the ongoing industrial action they plan to embark on regarding the promises the federal government failed to fulfilled the negotiations between both have then become two opposition players dribbling us (Students) as a ball toying with our life, career, and future as whole despite the inadequacy of the sectors at low ebb.

The poor standard of education in our country is a direct mockery of the huge annual budget voted for the sector, it is very clear that the desired results are not been seen and this should bother every one of us. We are repeatedly pained by the unconcerned attitude of our leaders in the struggle to make our pedagogy sector better. Currently, the Nigerian education system is widely renowned for its preliminary funding of the varsities, epileptic power supply, poorly standard facilities, and lastly poorly motivated staffs to instill the knowledge unto the student were highly disappointed by the federal government.

It could be recalled that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had been on with industrial action from 1999 till 2020. Erstwhile in the year 1999; ASSU goes on for 150 days of strike, 2001- 90 days, 2002- 14 ultimatum days strike, 2003- 180 days of industrial actions, 2005- 14 days of strike, 2006- 3 days, 2007- 90 days, 2008- 8 days, 2009- 120 days, 2010- 157 days of suffocating industrial actions, 2011- 59 days, 2013- 165 days, 2017- 35 days, 2018- 94 days, 2020- 120 days whist another one has arisen commencing on February 14 till March 14 if possible it would be averted.

The union had been expressing its grievances over the failure of the federal government to fulfill the agreements it’s made back in 2009 on issues including funding for rejuvenation of public universities, earned academic allowances, university translucency accountability solution; promotion arrears, renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, and the inconsistencies in Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System payment whilst none of this demand has been met.

However, education is the bedrock for any nation’s development and any nation that will survive in this century must not pay lip service to the issue of quality in education. The fact must be acknowledged that education is the only secured crux on which the brisk and sustainable economy of any nation can be anchored. The federal government needs to encourage synergy between the public and private sectors so that our students can get the best that they deserve.

Meanwhile, both negotiators representing each side failed to compromise to avert another nationwide strike before the Academic Staff Union of Universities decries out the four months of industrial action to embark on wholly aggrieved and disappointed towards the coalition conclusion of their day-to-day meetings to a month industrial action.

In all sincerity, our nation’s regulatory and monitoring agencies must urgently rise to the occasion in the furlough of their official duties to bail out our country from the current state of terrible debris of monthly strikes berating our pedagogy sector. We no longer need the drama of having schools everywhere whose products are half-baked; all we need is a rigid amendment of funding our varsities. Nigeria is ripe for structural measures and policies for the enthronement of sustainable acquisition of quality education and one of the surest ways of achieving this positive target is to weed out those identified as rocking the boat of our educational progress and corporate integrity. It is quite horrendous that the ASUU syndicate towards not check the well-being of the Nigeria Students.
The question is that who is to be blamed for the chaos our education sector finds itself in? How can we reinvigorate our education sector? How do we avert the prolonging of the industrial strike in our education sector?

Academic Staff Union of Universities need to be self-innovative and quick-witted at this time, they need to sensitize and learn new deals, unlearn anachronism, and relearn new strategy for engagement in this current century. A situation where all the universities go on strike at the same time and paralyze education is very offensive. They need to get smashing with transforming the system of governance in academia; this is catastrophic censure that they have to fight for not to be calumniating the deplorable education sector which needs to be restructured. Hope we would be free from this menace inundating our education sector.

OKANLAWON UTHMAN writes,
Eminentpen@gmail.com
08162210221