If the thunder of ASUU strikes again

The diminued and hum tone of industrial action that will soon head for a crescendo is credited to the new ASUU boss, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke who on Monday, 26th of July this year raised an alarm that the Union may unsheath its lethal sword from where it’s hanged.

He alleged that, federal government has breached the agreement between it, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of December 24, 2020. Federal government, on the other hand, disavowed it, through the honourable spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Ben Gong.

This tussle lies on the fact that, Federal government doesn’t acknowledge the initiative power of ASUU in its creation of University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS). That’s why it claimed that UTAS has lacuna for, it doesn’t give room for a tax deduction, such statements also makes Osodeke to retort and disclaim it.

That is part of what apparently brought a petulance on the part of ASUU not only that, its inability to receive Earn Academic Allowance (EAA ) as promised and selective payment of salary among its members.

It is crystal clear that those embryos are absolutely an attempt to reset another fresh strike, when the excruciating wound left by last year’s strike that was conditionally suspended on December 23rd is still being nursed.

Read Also: ASUU begins indefinite strike in Taraba University

No Universities under ASUU can boldly come out to tell the public that it’s not affected by the year 2020 age-long strike. Usman Danfodio University will not forget the havoc wrecked to its academic calendar not to talk of University of Ibadan that doesn’t conduct 2020/2021 session Admission exercise due the strike that had greatly affected its programmes.

This humiliating chess game playing by both parties has prompted a lot of well-to-do individuals, particularly, the business tycoons and the public officials who wish a standard and stable education for their wards to dash abroad, since they pretty know how degraded their home country’s education is, only few of them enrol their children in Nigerian private universities.

They value the effectiveness that academic stability can bring hence, gathering money through thick and thin to settle ticket, accommodation and school fees of their wards. These people are unaware that they are boosting other country’s economies, if only they know, but it pays them to spend hundreds of thousands in dollars rather than to stay in this annual strike mess.

These children will come back upon graduation to hold sensitive posts or even secure employment at the top companies, not infant one. But what will happen to the less privilege’s children after a myriad of pause-play and zig-zag academic years and when four years course turned to six years course six years turned to eight years course?

Roaming the street or engaging in dirty jobs like cyber fraud, robbery, kidnapping for ransom only few of them will accept fate and engage in menial or laborious jobs in order to keep body and soul together. That is the portion of the children of the less privileged parents. It’s not their fault, when they do not get an advantageous offer their colleagues in the western world are enjoying like; good facilities and social amenities that can make business innovation and creativity thrive.

Let alone dole payment to the unemployed people, that is surely happening in the United State of America and some other western world countries. Dr. Lola Akande of University of Lagos, Department of English language recounts ( her article titled” As Nigerians continue to flee” published by “The News” on July 11) how her colleague in the department was writing reference/recommendation letters for Nigerians seeking admission to foreign Universities. This in essence exhibits a caricature in the country’s public universities, which some rich parents cannot cope with.

More so, both parties see each other as a puissant and two strong iron rods, which one cannot bend for the other to the detriment of innocent students who are at the receiving end of their scuffle. It is palpable that students have been edgy lately over the upcoming strike and the degree of their tension shows that only God can tell what can happen, if the thunder of ASUU strikes again.

Perhaps, both of them do not know that this academic instability is a conflagration that has defaced and which may totally burn down the country education’s hue. The fact still remains, ASUU as the custodian of the academia, undoubtedly knows how sensitive its chosen profession is, while the federal government similarly knows that ASUU is a pest that feeds on money. It’s only money that can propagate the evangelism of the Union, then what causes this staccato? Please don’t let the future of the innocent students be at stake!