Varsity teachers go on indefinite strike
From Niyi Bello (Akure), Ifedayo Sayo (Ado-Ekiti), Iyabo Lawal (Ibadan), Alemma-Ozioruva Aliu (Benin City) and Emmanuel Badejo (Lagos)
ANOTHER crisis has hit the Nigerian public university system as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday in Akure, Ondo State capital, after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the Federal University of Technology (FUTA) declared "a total and indefinite strike" over what the union called "the continued negligence, failure and refusal of government to sign an agreement" reached with the ASUU team since December 2008.
At a press briefing to signal the take-off of the industrial action, National President of ASUU, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, said the union was "constrained to take the painful decision to declare a total and indefinite strike to compel the government to take the path of honour for once and sign the agreement reached after more than two years of painstaking and scientific negotiations."
The union blamed its recourse to the "avoidable option of strike action" on the Federal Government which it said must be made to bear full responsibility while urging "the public, our students, patriotic groups and individuals to appeal to government to sign and implement the agreement reached by the negotiating teams."
In 2006, in a bid to review the workability of the 2001 agreement reached by ASUU and the Federal Government, former President Olusegun Obasanjo set up the Gamaliel Onosode team to negotiate with the union on how to resolve all the issues raised by the university teachers in the agitation for improvement in the country's university system.
ASUU had approached the team led by Onosode on the government side with the assistance of technical advisers from the Judiciary, Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) and other important stakeholders with a four-point agenda on university funding, improved conditions of service, university autonomy and academic freedom as well as other miscellaneous demands that included alternative funding and assurance that more Nigerians get access to quality university education.
After a two-year period, during which the union leadership said it continually persuaded members to avoid a major crisis, meeting points were arrived at on the various issues raised at the negotiation table and everything was set for the signing of the agreement to precede implementation.
According to Awuzie, who was flanked at the briefing by members of the union executive council, "the negotiating teams searched for, and arrived at minimal conditions for reversing the decay in the university system and these include an agreement that if Nigeria is to get to where it ought to be, a minimum of 26 per cent of the yearly budget of the states and the Federal Government should be allocated to education.
"With this level of funding, we can halt the growing inability of the children of the underprivileged to get education. The teams also agreed that, in line with what the Nigerian Constitution allows, the Federal Government should as appropriate, provide assistance to states in areas of higher education.
"We arrived at an agreement on conditions of service that could motivate scholars sufficiently to stay in our country and teach, do research and community service, assuming that a good degree of patriotism would make up for the differences that might obtain in African countries that raid Nigeria for academics.
"Both teams also agreed upon series of provisions that would actively protect and promote university autonomy and academic freedom. We agreed on better qualification for members of university councils and we have agreed to propose to the National Assembly as amendments of certain laws in order to give the universities more autonomy."
The ASUU leadership however said it was piqued by the insensitivity of the government signing the agreements, stressing that while the delay lasted, the rot in the system continued to go deeper "with a paltry 2.2 per cent allocated for the education sector in this year's budget even though the Abdulsalam Abubakar regime, years ago, presented a budget with 11 per cent allocation to the sector."
Describing the attitude of government as deceitful, the union said "in March, we were told that the agreement would be signed before the end of April. At the end of April, we were told that it would be signed on May 7. On May 7, we were told the Permanent Secretary, who has no role in signing the papers, was not in the country.
"On May 10, we got a text message inviting us for the signing on Tuesday, May 12 at the NUC. When we got there, there was no programme. The event turned out to be a classic case of deception. Enough is enough."
However, at the University of Benin, some faculties went ahead with their first semester examination yesterday apparently to finish the semester before they would join the strike.
But at the Edo State-owned Ambrose Ali University (AAU), Ekpoma, the strike was total as the local chapter of ASUU had embarked on an indefinite strike since almost two weeks now to protest the full implementation of 2006 federal tax laws by the state government.
The Ilorin zone of the union has said the strike would not be called off until the Federal Government signed the newly-reached FGN/ASUU agreement.
Already, the strike has stalled the first semester examination of the University of Ado-Ekiti (UNAD) billed to begin next month as the zonal co-ordinator of the Ilorin Zone of the union, Prof. Eddy Olanipekun, said no academic activity would be allowed during the duration of the strike.
And on its own, the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) of University of Ibadan yesterday began a one-week strike to press for improved welfare package, including their salaries and other allowances said to be their entitlements.
The industrial action, expected to be called off next Monday, essentially affected the second semester 2008/2009 examination of the premier university, scheduled to begin yesterday.
The union had earlier informed the university of its intention to begin the action, should it fail to address the continuous controversy over the welfare issue.
And to ensure compliance, the union members as early as 7.00 a.m. went round the university, chasing away students and porters while they were shutting the classrooms.
Although the protest was peaceful, it was gathered that NASU members went as far as spreading mats on the floor in front of the university main entrance, to prevent any vehicular movement either from or into the university.
