About 3 months ago a friend of mine lamented about the fact that her salary had not been paid for months and she was
going to leave because she was
frustrated. It wasn’t the first time I
had heard it and I wrote about it,
asking the readers if the solution was
to quit working or to go on an
organized strike action. {Read the
piece and the ensuing discourse here }.
Now, if you attended a Nigerian
government university, you’re
probably not a stranger to the words
‘ASUU Strike’. Members of ASUU have
constantly gone on strike when the
terms of their agreement with the
Federal government are not complied
with.
For those of you who don’t know, ASUU
is an acronym for Academic Staff
Union of Universities. For as long as I
can remember there has always been
ASUU strike in the history of our
universities. Some people who have
opted for private universities have
cited “finishing within the stipulated
duration of study” as a reason for their
choice. This is because there are NO
guarantees that you’d finish a 5-year
course in 5 years. So you find that
every time the government and ASUU
get on a negotiation table, (usually
after the commencement of a strike or
the threat of a strike), both parties
come out with an agreement. Fast
forward a few years later (at most)
and they’re back at the same place.
Threat of strike, or strike –
negotiation- back to work. At the butt
of this vicious cycle is the student
body.
Young men and women are forced to
sit at home while the government and
the trade union do their usual dance
back and forth. I’ve been a ‘victim’ of
the ASUU strike and I know what it
feels like just waiting for godot . For the
past 3 months, and counting, ASUU has
been on strike. They’re demanding
that the government honors the
agreement that they came to at their
last negotiation.
However, like all things in Nigeria, it
appears we’ve become so used to ASUU
strike that we’ve become numb. It’s
one of those things that happens over
and over and we just ‘accept’ it.
Remember how we used to be really
horrified at the Boko Haram attacks?
Now it appears we’re just numb. ‘Oh
those Boko Haram people are killing
again. *shrug* ‘ But the truth is, lives
are being lost. And just like we should
not allow ourselves to see the Boko
Haram attacks as the norm we really
shouldn’t see ASUU strikes as part of
the framework of our lives.
So, what exactly is the ASUU situation?
Is it funding? I asked my uncle who
was one of the ‘Unilorin 44‘ what the
real issue was. I asked if ASUU felt that
the strikes were the only way to get
their views heard. I noted that if
they’ve been on this cycle of strikes
and pointless negotiations that
perhaps it was time to try other outlets
of dispute resolution. He responded
that funding was the major problem.
Recounting the glory days at University
of Ibadan, access to laboratories and
modern technology with which he
taught in the 70s. I asked about the
funds that had been disbursed in the
past to the universities. Who’s
accountable for that? Then he
mentioned the corruption in the
administrative offices of vice
chancellors and university
administrator. I sighed ‘Ah! Here it
comes, the Nigerian factor’.
I believe that if we’re to find the
change we desperately seek, then we
have to do something drastic. I don’t
believe that foreign universities rely
solely on government funding. It’s a
task the government cannot bear on
its own if we’re to be perfectly honest.
There’s room for private sector
contribution and even alumni
development. There are usually
endowment funds given by charitable
bodies who believe in these causes.
The longer the ASUU strike remains,
the longer we have young idle people
roaming the streets. When I was a
student and the ASUU strike met me at
home, my father turned me into his
investment secretary and I was
basically working and trawling the
streets of Marina and Lagos Island
chasing unpaid dividends and bonus
certificates. I felt I was being used but
I’m better off for it today.
As a young person who’s affected by
the ASUU strike, what are you doing to
make sure you’re going to be a better
person if and when the strike is called
off. As a stakeholder in the Nigerian
education system, what can we do to
put an end to this recurring problem?
Why is our education system in the
pits? Why do people get sent to
Education faculty if they score 153 in
JAMB? What kind of teachers are we
hoping to get?