Between FG And ASUU: Who is to blame for playing with our future? -By Abdulrasheed Hammad

It’s so awful that since the Academic Staff Union of the Universities embarked on an indefinite strike since eight months back, the federal government didn’t take any action to resolve the lingering ASUU strike until they announced that all tertiary institutions should be reopened on Oct 12, 2020.

This incessant strike by ASUU has harmed the lives of the students. As the proverb says: An Idle hand is an evil workshop. The inability of some students to engage in activities that will keep them busy at home has led some ladies to have illicit sexual intercourse which has resulted in an unwanted pregnancy. Some ladies have been forced to marry while some students are in prison as a result of End Sars protest and other offences they committed, while some have died in the course of struggle during End Sars Protest, whereas some students have been barred from NYSC due to age limit. What is now the cause of all these? Is because of the ASUU strike!

I am highly disappointed in this present government for its ineptitude towards the educational sector. The funniest part of this game is that the FG is scrambling to meet the demand of ASUU when the End Sars protest is still hot, but since the End Sars protest has died down, they are now doing meeting with no improvement.

This present government doesn’t even know that education is one of the crucial ways to achieve sustainable development in the country and we cannot attain this without investing heavily in education. The FG has said they don’t have the power to pay 110billion for the revitalization of the universities but they can spend billions of naira on the construction of roads and railway, and they can still organize a graduation party for the so-called repentant Boko Haram members, even though ASUU is on strike, what kind of oblivious government is this?

I have never thought that ASUU can go on strike for more than eight months under the administration of President Muhammad Buhari. Resolving the incessant ASUU strike is one of his campaign agenda in 2015, but when he emerged as the president, he has forgotten all the promises he made during campaigns. What a clueless leader who budgeted 5.6 percent of the whole budget on education and is regarded as the lowest budget on education in the last ten years.

I am aware that ASUU is fighting for their interest and the interest of the Nigerian students at large. If we have a leader who didn’t give preference to education, this is what will surely be the consequence of it. If ASUU fight their war and they won, I believe it would be for the betterment of the students and our lecturers, but our time is being wasted.

ASUU should also minimize their demand and try all their possible means to reach a concrete agreement with FG for this strike to be called off. They can continue their negotiation after calling off the strike. The future of Nigerian students is at stake, our hope for education is diminishing day by day and our academic progress is being hampered by this incessant strike.

For example, last year, I was a 300-Level undergraduate student, this year, I am still at the same level and next year I will still be in 300-Level. We are not progressing and we are not repeating and we stand at one level like stagnant water.

In my opinion, the best solution now is for FG and ASUU to find a lasting solution to this strike. The federal government should be paying the salaries of lecturers with the mode they were using before, before the imposition of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS which was strongly kicked against by ASUU and they should adopt University Transparency, Accountability Solution them UTAS since the main reason behind IPPIS is to ensure transparency in the payment of lecturers.

We cannot cope with your battle anymore, our time has been wasted already, and to regain it would be difficult. We understand that you are fighting for the interest of your members and the interest of Nigerian students, but calling off this strike will be a better option for Nigerian students to reduce the rate of crime in this country. This strike doesn’t affect you in any way nor does it affect the federal government because at the end of the day, they will pay your withheld salaries but the students’ time that has been wasted cannot be recuperated.

Since our leaders are not worried about how the children of the masses can get quality education and they send their children abroad to receive a quality education, they now left the children of the masses and forced them to sit at home without even worry about the effect to the lives of the students.

This vicious federal government are still intimidating the lecturers with hunger because they want autonomy in the payment of university lecturers and you are punishing we Nigerian students by deterring us to pursue our dream, you were busy with your administration without considering the effect of your action to the development of this country.

Strike and protest are the only languages that the federal government understands and I know this strike will not stop and protest will not end until the federal government meets the demand of ASUU. FG is to be blamed for playing Ludo with our future and the outcome of this may go beyond the control of the government.

My advice for Nigerian students is to get their PVC ready to vote for leaders who have priority for education, we cannot vote for leaders or political parties who cannot cater for the welfare of students in 2023 because the children of the masses also deserve a quality education.

I am using this opportunity to implore the FG to give precedence to education and should try to meet the demands of ASUU ranging from the fund for the revitalization of the University to the payment of the earned academic allowance of Lecturers and fulfillment of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) which the parties signed in 2009.

They should also resolve the dispute by adopting UTAS for the sake of Nigerian students. ASUU, on the other hand, should consider the students who have been stuck at home for the last eight months, I will implore you to call off the strike, not for the sake of the federal government but the interest of Nigerian students at large.

Save The Future of Nigerian Students
We Are Fed Up of Meeting With No Progress
End ASUU Strike Now.