Many Nigerians have condemned the news about the intended temporary suspension of the 6-month-old strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The union began the strike on February 14 to press home its demands.
ASUU recently issued a public statement through its Twitter handle that the union would be holding a press conference on Tuesday, July 19 for the benefit of its members and Nigerian students in public universities.
According to ASUU’s tweet, the union is attempting to temporarily suspend the current strike.
However, many Nigerians seem not happy with the new twist in the ongoing strike after more than 5 months of keeping students at home and wasting their dreams.
One of the people who reacted to the news said, “Temporary suspension is not what is needed at this time. ASUU needs to grow up at this point; you can’t keep using the same formula and expect a different result.
“I’m a final year student; this is my 6th year for a 4-year course. You can’t keep playing politics with students’ futures.”
Jacob Uchenna recounted his ordeal in the hands of the ASUU strike some 14 years ago.
Read also: ASUU strike: NLC embarks on nat’l protest July 26, 27
“During my time there was a strike that made us spend an extra year, but after that, the government had to sign this same agreement that has not been honoured for over 13 years and counting. It has been 14 years after my graduation and this same issue is still lingering,” he noted.
Joseph Perpetual expressed her dismay over the lingering strike and the lecturers’ attitude of calling for the temporary suspension.
“Same old thing, I got admitted into the higher institution in the year 1992, and went for youth service in the year 2000, you can imagine how long it took me then. The story has not changed,” she said.
For Obinna Paragon, “this temporary suspension is annoying. A possible year of graduation is turning to the ancient of days. You guys should better update the course being introduced. We are tired of solving useless equations, we are not dummies. Introduce digital courses, and reduce job hunting in Nigeria.”
ASUU impasse has been passing through diverse phases from the renegotiation to the testing of the University Transparency, Accountability Solution (UTAS) a payment platform approved by the union, among others.
The Nimi Briggs renegotiation committee inaugurated on March 7 has recommended N2 million monthly salary for professors which did not go down well with the federal government, hence necessitating re-recommendation.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 26-27 in solidarity with ASUU should the federal government fail to address the impasse urgently.
