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ODOMERO IGBODO
A Labour leader in Enugu, Comrade Chukwuma Igbokwe has expressed worry over the continued failure of the federal government to implement agreement reached with the Academic Staff Union of Universities over the years.
Comrade Igbokwe who is the state chairman of Trade Union Congress, was speaking against the backdrop of the indefinite strike declared by university lecturers.
Lecturers in Nigerian public universities declared a total, indefinite strike from Sunday, August 13.
The lecturers, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) announced their decision on Monday morning.
At a press conference in Abuja, the ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi, explained reasons for the lecturer’s decision.
Igbokwe who noted that ASUU’s requests were genuine and for the benefit of the education sector, stated that government’s consistent failure to fulfill its part of agreement reached with the union shows that it is not interested in the future Nigerian’s children.
He urged the federal government and the leadership of Academic Staff Union of Universities to mechanism in place to ensure a lasting solution to the lingering issues to save the education section from imminent collapse.
“It is becoming embarrassing that over the years, since 2009, agreement was reached by the leadership of ASUU and federal government; up till now, we are still having problem with the implementation of those agreements reached”.
“The issues involved are not new; the issue of funding is not a new one. The issue of university autonomy is not a new one. The only new thing we can see there is issue of establishment of their own pension administrator for them. But you can that most of the issues are the same issues that have been coming up, since 2009.
“The problem is why is it difficult? And in every time, we have this down tool by ASUU, there is always an agreement reached between them and federal government before they go back to class. Why it that this agreement reached is not implemented, is not complied with. And there is no also a mechanism to keep getting the leadership of ASUU to see reasons why we have not done it, or we are still preparing to do it. From different administrations to another, it has been like that.”
“So it is worrisome, because it shows that probably we are no longer interested in the future of our children, because if you look at it from the past twenty-years, we have been complaining about the falling standard of education, from primary, secondary to tertiary level and part of what have contributed to it is when these demands are not met. The demand is not just for salary review, it is not for salary increase. It is for other things that will standardize tertiary education particularly the universities”.
“Recently, you go outside the country and you see how they evaluate the degrees awarded by Nigerian universities. And what do we need to do? Parents are taking their children from public-government universities to private universities; some have even gone out of the country, within the continent or even outside the continent. So, I don’t know”.
“Allowing this issue to continue to linger from 2009 till now; I think, that is very unfair. For the ASUU lecturers, I think that is the right thing to do, because in labour parlance, you don’t just down tool a day. You start writing letters, making reminders. At a stage, you will make a threat that you will, and the government will keep quiet until you down tool before they now ask you to come to the negotiating table, only to draft and reach an agreement that will still not be complied with”.
Implication of the Battle between ASUU and the Federal Government
The implication is that our standard of education is going down, our children are suffering, high crime rate, because once you say you down tool and students stay at home, a lot of things will began to happen. Some staying at home might begin to think of kidnapping. Staying idle, they may begin to think of armed robbery. Because when you are at home, some of them, the money they collect from their parents for school is no longer going to be given to them. Some ladies out of staying at home may go into prostitution. There are so many vices. By staying at home when they down fool, you see increase in crime, vices within the society.
The education standard is going down; because the number of years,**** then psychological torture. You are supposed to spend seven or five years in the university and because of the strike that is reoccurring, you spend many years. And there are some courses, particularly medical courses for instance, which required extensive practical and so on. And sometimes you found out that you cannot cope.
And at a stage shrike or not shrike, you might be asked to pay more and it is taking more from the parents. Because in a society like this, you would have programmed yourself that in five years your child will be out of school, you face other projects. Now the child is still in school after seven years.
The way forward–
The way forward is that, government should address these issues. Because the academic staff on their own have also shown commitment. By each time they are called back, they go back to work; and for how many years you continue calling them back yet you have not addressed the issue. So, the way forward is government should address those issues, bring them to the negotiating table. If you have a problem in addressing these issues, why not prioritise and take it one after the other. Even if we agree that we will do one this year and do one in two years time; then the lecturers will have in their mind, that yes, this thing will come in so so year, and for Christ’s sake when we get to so so years let it be done. Government is continuity, governance is a continuum. So you don’t just say because a new regime comes and whatever agreement the old regime have had prior with ASUU, that you are not part of it, it is not. Administration may come and go but government is a continuum.
