After staying away from the classrooms for 89 days, lectures nationwide under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have insisted that the strike will continue inasmuch as the government fails to meet up with 2013 agreement with the lecturer’s Union.
The lecturers have made it clear that they are only seeking appropriate funding of education and the payment of their N87 billion earned allowances and not making fresh demands as indicated by the government.
However, the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has threatened to join the strike in the next two weeks if ASUU and the Federal government fail to resolve their differences.
NUT President, Mr Michael Olukoya, gave the ultimatum in Abuja where he said the actions of thelectures as “nationalistic, patriotic and self-sacrificing”.
“We will not hesitate to shut down the education system in the country, if the government fails to fulfil or honour the agreement it entered into with the lecturers”, he threatened.
“NUT will forever be proud of all its teachers, believing that all employment agencies are corruption-free, disciplined and quality conscious in their employment drives,” Olukoya said.
The last negotiation effort towards pacifying the lectures by Vice President Namadi Sambo seems to have hit the rock as Chairman, (ASUU), University of Lagos (UNILAG) Chapter; Dr. Karo Ogbinika revealed in a statement yesterday that the strike must go on.
According to him, ASUU pull out of negotiations previously with the Federal Government, which was represented by Benue State Governor Gabriel Suswam, on the premise that the government was insincere and non-committed to the allaying the plight of the lecturers.
The statement read in parts: “After the meeting on September 19 with the Vice-President, it is clear that the Federal Government is merely paying lip service to education in Nigeria and deceiving the public on its commitment to its transformation agenda.
“The Nigerian people should not be deceived. How can there be a meaningful transformation when the education sector is neglected and gradually taken over by private entrepreneurs, including government functionaries who are busy bulding private universities with stolen funds in and outside Nigeria. Can these universities be truly called private?
“ASUU is assuring Nigerians that it will not back out in its struggle to ensure that the government is made to do what is right in the education sector. This is a commitment that all members of the union have vowed to pursue to its logical conclusion.”
Besides, ASUU members at the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) have also insisted that they would not return to classes unless the Federal Government comes to term with the lecturers and resolve the lingering issues.
This is a stand maintained against the plans of the VC, Professor, Femi Mimiko over plans to call back lecturers of the school to work and they (ASUU) have threatened to closed down the entire school if such happens.
Mimiko had argued that the school had unbroken four-year academic calendar before the strike started.
“The strike has affected our programmes. It is not in the interest of our students. We hope ASUU will call off the strike soon, if not, we are considering taking a measure to bring our students back to the campus.
“Ours is a state university and the case is different. We don’t have any subsisting agreement with the ASUU. It is the Federal Government that has issues with the ASUU”, he further argued.
But in a prompt reaction in Akure, Chairman of ASUU, AAUA, Dr. Busayo Mekusi, portrayed the VC’s plan as “an attempt to plunge the institution into an unending crisis”.
“We are committed to the strike called by the union to push for the implementation of the 2009 agreement; state universities were duly represented during the processes of negotiation that culminated in the signing of the agreement and this account for why AAUA has been benefitting from the proceeds of ASUU struggle as found in the intervention of TETFUND”, he maintained.
“By this purported resumption of academic activities, the VC seems to be ready to plunge the institution into crisis as he wants to apply the University of Ilorin model, which promotes dehumanisation and slavery”, he stated.
The lectures have insisted that the government meet up with the 2009 agreement between the teachers and the government but government has so far, offered N30 billion for the earned allowances and made available N100billion for projects on the campuses but the lecturers rejected the offer on the basis that the government make up full commitment to their demand.