Nigeria is probably set to witness the longest pre-election year industrial action of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) which is on its 3rd-month counting.
Recall that ASUU had declared a rolling strike on February 14, to give government the chance to address nagging issues with the union. But the federal government dragged its foot, the strike action was rolled over and is now in its third month.
Nigeria has never had it this bad as regards pre- election ASUU strike since the inception of democracy.
The longest ASUU strikes in Nigeria so far
In 1999, a few months after the Obasanjo-Atiku administration was sworn-in, ASUU embarked on a nationwide strike and it lasted for five months.
Similarly, in 2018-2019, the lecturers went on strike for 58days before the federal government could address the impasse between it and ASUU.
Outlook of current ASUU strike
So far, there are no indications that the federal government and the ASUU are in any way near agreement on how and when to call off the strike.
Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment is obviously more interested in the forthcoming general elections; as he has declared his intention to contest for the position of president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
And in his declaration speech, Ngige stated clearly that the federal government does not owe the lecturers their salary, which leaves many stakeholders wondering what that means.
“In the case of the university unions, it is important to make it clear that the federal government is not owing them salaries and wages rather, what is being owed is a carry-over of allowances (Earned Academic Allowances/Earned Allowances) from the past administration and that the carry-over is being paid in instalment, under a negotiated agreement. In one or two occasions that government defaulted for lack of revenue to pay, it was properly rescheduled,” he stated.
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The minister rather urged the union leaders to tell their members the truth about what is happening with the University Transparent and Accountability Solution (UTAS) at the NITDA as well as the re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement ongoing in the ministry of education, which ASUU has shunned.
Real reason for current ASUU strike
However, ASUU has clearly explained that the union is not on strike because of money but rather because the federal government has failed to honour the agreement reached with the union in 2009.
Moreover, the lecturers are not in agreement with the choice of Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) as a payment platform as a result of the nature of their service. And in place of the IPPIS, the lecturers have introduced UTAS as the union’s acceptable payment platform.
According to Kayode Eesuola, a senior lecturer in the University of Lagos, “Lecturers are international workers who could go on sabbatical leave which the payment system does not support.”
Besides, Eesuola explained that what the union is asking is that the federal government should address the agreement reached in 2009.
Similarly, Emmanuel Osodeke, the president of ASUU who spoke on Channels TV Sunrise, said that the federal government has not demonstrated readiness to address the prolonged strike that has forced Nigerian students in public tertiary institutions at home.
Osodeke urged the federal government to remove N200billion from the N4 trillion it has for fuel subsidies, to boost the infrastructure deficit of Nigerian universities.
He maintained that the Nigerian academic intelligentsia can provide all the solutions needed to boost the country as he called on the government to challenge Nigerian university lecturers to provide solutions to nagging issues it has identified.
He argued that it took the Nigerian university only three months to locally produce UTAS which performed at 97.3 percent to replace the foreign IPPIS.
The ASUU leader reiterated that the Nigerian university can provide a refinery within three years, as part of measures to rid the nation of the loss incurred on subsidy.
“It is always very funny, that the government, who cannot raise 200 billion to revamp all Nigeria universities annually, to world standards.
“The same government can raise N4 trillion Naira for fuel subsidies. Fuel subsidy and Nigerian education which is more important to any country that wants to move forward?
“You can raise a budget to make N4 trillion for subsidies a year, but you cannot raise N200billion to fund your education where you don’t have the infrastructure.
“You can spend N228 billion to feed children in primary or secondary schools. But you cannot raise this fund for your university; it is an issue of priority. That is the problem.
“If you remove N200m from N4 trillion, to fund your universities, you still have N3.8trillion for fuel subsidy.
