ASUU Strike:
Questioning The Sincerity of ASUU
[ Masterweb Reports: Felix Festus reports ]
– The threat to academic stability in the nation’s
ivory towers because of the current strike by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has
attracted headlines in the dailies. The media has
also been awashed by many criticisms, most of
which have been directed at the Federal
Government in which President Jonathan is the
representational character. However, it appears
many of the critics have failed to consider the
other side of the coin, which is one of the
essentials in a debate on such a controversial
issue.
Therefore, the focus of this piece is to examine
the purpose of the present ASUU’s strike and
their sympathizers’ rage against the FG. Firstly,
ASUU came up with the issue of autonomy for
universities. The FG approved the idea of
autonomy so long as the universities would
generate internal revenue to offset their
expenditure, including salaries and allowances.
This government’s position provoked ASUU
members. They poured venom on the
government for merely supporting the idea of
autonomy - existence as an independent body!
Having realized the illusion surrounding university
autonomy, members of the academic union
played down their demand. This raises a question
on the sincerity of ASUU’S demands.
On the issue of Federal Government’s assistance
to state universities, this writer supports the idea
of assisting the state universities. But must the
Federal Government be compelled to render
support to universities established and owned by
state governments? Methink helping state
universities should be as necessary as the state
governments are required to support the federal
institution located in their domain. Needless to
say that state governments collect tenement tax
from federal institutions sited in their states.
The idea of compelling the federal government to
offer help to state-owned universities is borne out
of the fact that academic staff from state
universities are also part of ASUU. The truth must,
however, be told. The Visitors to state universities
are the state governors. Academic and non-
academic staff of state-owned universities are
employees of the state governments. Compelling
the FG to assist state universities no doubt
negates the principle of federalism. It only brings
to fore the overdependence of constituents on
the government at the centre.
The progressive increase of education budget to
26% between 2009 and 2020 is another
contentious issue in the 2009 FG/ASUU
agreement. The agitation for increase to 26% in
budgetary allocation, as recommended by
UNESCO for developing nations, is a legitimate
one. So tere is need to improve the current 8%
total budget to education by the FG.
However, while the FG should be chastised for its
current 8% budget to education, one needs to
remind discerning readers that in nations where
huge budgetary allocations are committed to
education, members of the academia engage in
scholarly research that help to solve societal
needs. Only a few of our academics engage in
fruitful research capable of solving the needs of
our society. Most of the university teachers set
their target in journal publication that would help
them gain promotion in their academic career
even when such is far from rendering solution to
our societal needs.
Akin to increase in budgetary allocation is the
issue of earned academic allowances for
university teachers. Allowances are stimulants
that reinforce positive inclination towards work.
While government is working out modalities to
pay earned academic allowances to deserving
university teachers, the Dr. Fagie led ASUU is
kicking against such, insisting that allowances
should be paid across board, even when not all
lecturers merit such allowances.
My experience as an undergraduate and post-
graduate student in one of the first generation
universities showed that not all university
lecturers deserve mention in the earned
allowance, particularly the absentees. It is an
open secret that some of the lecturers who are
fulltime employees in the federal universities
abandon their duty posts to shuttle between
federal and private universities. They stagger
their responsibilities in multiple roles as lecturers–
in-charge in both public and private universities
sacrificing quality of delivery in the process, at
the expense of unsuspecting students in public
universities.
These ‘abroad’ lecturers hardly attend classes to
teach in the public universities. When they
return, mostly towards the end of the semester,
they engage the students in lengthy, patchy
lecture hours in a bid to cover a course work that
ought to have been concluded before the time of
exams. Any student who dare challenges
lecturer’s absenteeism in public universities are
often victimized with a threat of carry-over of the
course handled by the lecturer or delay in
graduation.
At the post-graduate level, the situation is even
more unpalatable. Many post-graduate students
fail to complete their programmes in line with the
academic calendar due to lecturers’ negligence.
They hardly spend quality time to guide and
mentor their students in their long essays. With
this domineering posture, a percentage of the
students either incur extra year(s) or abandon
their programmes out of frustration. If you would
not grow grey hair while undertaking a Ph.D
degree as a student, you have to not only be hard
working in your research pursuit, but also be
willing to worship the deified characters in
lecturer’s garb! Let me add here that a
considerable number of the lecturers have
passion for their calling. Those ones always act
right by performing their duties without
compromising standard; they deserve their
earned allowances and should be rightly
rewarded.
The influx of private universities became more
pronounced during the regime of ex-president
Olusegun Obasanjo. Yet, thousands of university
applicants seeking admission could not either
gain admission into the universities or afford the
luxury of high fee demands of the private
universities. In fulfilling his campaign promises in
2011, President Jonathan established nine federal
universities and further established three to make
it twelve. The establishment of federal universities
provided succour to admission seeking
candidates. Besides providing admission to
deserving applicants, it also signaled a massive
employment into the education sector. Jonathan
will go into the history books as one whose regime
established most federal universities in a single
tenure.
The prolonged quagmire and the sit tight
approach of ASUU members are having
devastating effects on Nigerian students,
undergraduates and post-graduates. The rot in
the education sector as claimed by ASUU should
not be further fertilized by ASUU’s hard-line
posture. The standstill caused by ASUU/FG
impasse could have been resolved if only ASUU
and FG would shift ground and make concession,
at least for the sake of the students who bear the
brunt of the face-off.
Already, the Federal Government has made a
spirited effort to get the striking lecturers back to
work. The government recently released a
whopping 130billion naira in response to ASUU’s
demand for infrastructural development in public
universities. According to the Secretary to the
Federal Government, Anyim Pius Anyim,
100billion naira is for infrastructural development,
while the remaining 30billion naira has also been
disbursed as part of FG’s attempt to defray the
backlog of the earned allowances.
That means the federal government has shifted
ground in this regard, so what is ASUU waiting
for?

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ASUU proving forming too hard for the FG.
I pity the students who are the grass as this two elephants FG & ASUU fights.
Last Bullet:
Op, you v said it all in the part of 'abroad Lectures'. I dislike that. Infact, any Lecturer that's not worth what he/she's earning & can't work diligently is eating a cursed money.
The earlier the better for FG & ASUU to resolve their differences.