BY ROSEMARY NWAEBUNI
‘It is regrettable to note that nothing significant has happened since our last briefing on the eight issues in dispute. The two-week warning strike is based on some unresolved issues, which include the conclusion and signing of the renegotiated 2009 Federal Government-ASUU Agreement; payment of withheld three and a half months’ salaries; settlement of 25 to 35 percent salary arrears; release of promotion arrears covering over four years; the disbursement of withheld third party deductions such as cooperative contributions and union dues; and an end to victimisation of lecturers in LASU, KSU (now Prince Abubakar Audu University).
‘’If after the two-week warning strike, the government failed to meet our demands, what would follow would be a total and comprehensive strike’’, declared ASUU President, Prof Chris Piwuna, in utter exasperation.
‘’At the end of every strike, Nigerian students are the ultimate losers. The rent for accommodation is non-refundable, age count is irreversible, time lost cannot be regained, and course durations are inadvertently extended.
‘’The extension of stay at campus not only affects students’ academic journey, but it also destabilises their life plans, as many would miss NYSC mobilisation due to the age limit. Meanwhile, the lecturers and government officials in charge of education supervision are paid their salaries, complained Osaro, a distraught 300 Level Engineering student.
‘’Our children cannot afford to be at home. My two children just left for their institutions, and I have given them what they required. What happens if ASUU prolongs the strike? One of my children is in his final year, and the strike will certainly affect his graduation’’, complained Mrs Theresa Ojeme, a worried parent.
These extracted quotes underpin the widespread frustration faced by university lecturers, students and parents in a nation where education is not prioritised.
The ongoing two-week warning strike by ASUU, which followed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued on September 28, may be a prelude to another lengthy stay-at-home by students in public universities across the country if the federal government remains adamant on its threat of a no-work-no-pay stance, instead of engaging the union for an amicable settlement.
According to the union’s National President, Prof Chris Piwuna, the action was necessitated by the federal government’s continued neglect of core issues that have lingered for over a decade.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was established in 1978 to replace the Nigerian Association of University Teachers (NAUT), which was formed in 1965, covering academic staff in the University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Ife, Ile-Ife and University of Lagos.
This is not the first time ASUU has embarked on a nationwide strike. The first major strike by ASUU took place in 1988 during the military administration of General Ibrahim Babangida. The 1988 strike was embarked upon to demand improved working conditions for lecturers and increased funding for public universities. That national strike action led to the proscription of ASUU by the military government on August 7, 1988 and all its assets were confiscated.
The Union was allowed to resume in 1990 but was again banned on August 23, 1992, following a nationwide strike that was declared on May 14, 1992. After the government failed to engage ASUU in negotiations, the strike was called off on July 20, 1992.
On September 3, 1992, a deal was finally negotiated that addressed several of the union’s demands, including the right of employees to engage in collective bargaining. The ban was eventually lifted as part of that negotiation.
In 1994 and 1996, ASUU embarked on strikes to protest the military government of Sani Abacha’s firing of some academic staff. On December 17, 2013, ASUU declared a strike that lasted six months over the non-implementation of a 2009 agreement between it and the federal government. The strike was eventually called off after the federal government agreed to some of its demands.
Since Nigeria’s return to democratic governance in 1999, ASUU’s recurring disputes with successive federal governments have largely revolved around unmet agreements, irregular salary structures, poor infrastructure, and lack of autonomy and the overall decay of the university system. These disputes have triggered strikes that often grind academic activities across public universities to a halt for months.
Although ASSU has embarked on several strikes since its establishment in 1978, the most disruptive strike to date occurred in 2020, lasting a period of nine months, from March to December. The strike, which was initially triggered by the union’s rejection of the federal government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, was compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which magnified the impact on students and institutions. Lecturers were suspended nationwide, graduations were postponed, and many students lost an entire academic year.
There are several reasons for the incessant strikes by ASUU. Chief among them is the government’s failure to implement agreements reached with the Union. The federal government has a penchant for not fully implementing or honouring past agreements with ASUU.
It is common knowledge among all and sundry that every time ASUU and the Federal Government get together to discuss their differences, it usually ends with the Federal Government promising the union that the demands would be met. It is the non-implementation of those promises over a long period of time that leads to ASUU going on strike with the aim of forcing the government to fulfil the agreements reached at previous negotiations.
Thus, the primary cause of ASUU’s strikes, virtually on an annual basis since 1999, has been the government’s failure to concede to the union’s demands.
