- Insists On Renegotiation of 2009 Agreement
- Describes Tinubu's Administration As Negligent of ASUU; Accuses FG Officials of Hypocrisy, Wickedness And Profligacy
By Chinua Okafor (Enugu State Correspondent)
Academic and sundry activities at the main campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) located at the Nsukka town in Enugu State came to a temporary halt on Thursday, June 27.
Aggrieved members of the academic staff of the institution on the platform of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU-UNN Chapter) and led by Dr Oyibo Eze, took to the streets of the campus in a peaceful demonstration to protest the poor conditions of service of the lecturers in UNN and other ASUU members.
As early as 10:45am, ASUU members from the University had began to arrive at the venue of the protest at FOSSA Lecture Hall from where they proceeded to the UNN school main gate and then back to the Vice Chancellor's Office.
After a brief documentation of the protest attendees and the customary chant of the ASUU anthem and pledge, Chairman of the Union, Comrade Oyibo Eze, described the protest/meeting as a "crucial gathering".
He said it was a gathering/protest over the government's lack of cooperation with ASUU, especially in the implementation of its earlier agreement with the Federal Government. He, first of all, discouraged ASUU members of the school from insulting or going after any of the leading members of the Association, otherwise they may face severe consequences. Comrade Eze urged the protesting lecturers to conduct themselves with decorum while making vehement their points.
The ASUU-UNN Chairman expressed the grievances of the Union to include government's outright negligence and lack of attention to their needs and welfare, which he explained was why they are embarked on the Thursday protest/mobilization and sensitization. He stated that if government refuses to listen to their voices, ASUU would have no other option than to consider embarking on total strike action.
Dr Oyibo Eze also chided government officials in the three arms of President Bola Tinubu administration for seemingly being thoughtless about the mass poverty that the regime is widely believed to have inflicted on the citizens, and above all, for being allegedly profligate in the way they have handled the national budget in the past one year which seems to benefit them (the officials) only.
As the ASUU Chairman spoke, union members hailed him in appreciation of his logical presentation of their grievances against the government. The ASUU-UNN lecturers carried placards with different inscriptions such as: “Government, stop forcing ASUU to embark on strike", "Government, honour your agreements with ASUU", " Government, don’t kill university education in Nigeria", "Nigeria lecturers are the least paid in the globe".
ASUU- UNN members protesting at the main gate of the University on Thursday morning.
Dr Oyibo Eze however pointed out that ASUU had born government negligence with stoic patience over the years, yet the agreements it had with the academic Union will not be honoured. He revealed that ASUU had employed both diplomatic and political means to make the Tinubu Presidency address their greviances, but explaining in a tone of regret that despite the promises by the current federal government, the ASUU efforts had collapsed.
Comrade Eze said: "Every effort to renegotiate the 2009 agreement with federal government has proved abortive. Also, during the campaign of President Bola Tinubu, he made it clear that he would end ASUU strike by fulfilling all the demands of the Union, but immediately he assumed office, he never made efforts to match his words with action. Immediately he assumed office, we articulated our grievances and sent to him. We have done that up to three times but we have not received any response from the government.
He continued: "Since he assumed office one year ago, our Union has employed both political and diplomatic means to make Federal Government address our grievances, but none yielded any result. When Muhammadu Buhari, was in office, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives and now Tinubu's Presidential Chief of Staff, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, promised that our issues would be addressed immediately President Tinubu takes over, but now, he has not been picking our phone calls. He had been the one calling our National President then, but now, our President calls him, but he won’t pick his calls".
However, the immediate-past ASUU-UNN Chairman and a foremost ASUU activist, Dr Christian Opata in his presentation at the event, urged Union members to show unflinching support for the ASUU cause since, according to him, government has refused to be responsive to the timeliness and terms of their previous discussions/agreements with the Union.
He called for the renegotiation of the FG-ASUU 2009 agreements, sighting that it is grossly unfair for the officials of government to be spending the nation's scarce resources the way they are spending it while ignoring the needs of ASUU and other stakeholders in the critical sectors of the country. He exhorted ASUU members not to focus on menial things that would strip them of their powers as the protest was not a local issue but an important national matter that needs to get attended to immediately.
Another unidentified high table member of the ASUU-UNN also spoke about how the last strike action by the Union was tactically withdrawn just to ensure the survival of ASUU as the critical welfare conditions of members at the time made it germane for the leadership of the Union to act swiftly and tactfully.
Other ASUU members however gave their opinions and input on the current situation. Both those who agreed or disagreed with the modus operandi of the Union had their say. Some equally asked vital questions. Most members cited concerns on how the past strikes by ASUU have been handled.
Protesting ASUU-UNN lecturers arriving the Vice Chancellor's office after their procession to be addressed by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Johnson Urama.
While addressing the protesting lecturers, UNN's Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Johnson Urama, expressed his solidarity with the ASUU movement and the cause of the Union. He praised the members of Union for their wisdom to toe the path of legitimate peaceful protest/demonstration to express their profound dissatisfaction with the federal government.
Prof. Urama however expressed appreciation with the level of intervention so far undertaken by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) which he recalled was the initiative of ASUU, especially in the execution of vital physical and sundry projects in many Nigerian Universities.
The Deputy Vice Chancellor equally assured ASUU members that their grievances would soon be a thing of the past, expressing his optimism that the federal government would precipitate quick action to avert any impending ASUU industrial action which might disrupt academic activities in the nation's public universities.
At exactly 12:22pm, the protesting union members rose for a closing chant and dispersed.
Meanwhile, it will be recalled that during the last leg of former President Muhammadu Buhari's second tenure in 2022, ASUU embarked on its national strike action that lasted for over eight months and which consequently disrupted academic activities in all public universities in Nigeria and dislocated existing academic calender. Since then, most universities are yet to adjust from the impact of that elongated strike. The setback was just too enormous for the institutions.
While that strike lasted, the National Industrial Court ruled that the strike should end. Eminent national leaders, religious organisations and critical stakeholders in the education sector also intervened,.calling on both the government and ASUU to sheath their swords for the students to return to school. The then Speaker of the House of Representatives and current Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, led a truce talk/negotiation with ASUU and the strike was temporarily called off.
The Buhari administration which was a bit recalcitrant, insisted that it had no resources to meet the ASUU demands and withheld the salaries of the lecturers. It even adopted a policy of 'no work, no pay'. The Buhari government also stuck to its guns, insisting that it's paynent to the lecturers must be done through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
On assumption of office on May 29 last year, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu promised in one of his public addresses that he would promptly tackle the ASUU problem and pay their withheld salaries. Tinubu actually lived up to his promise partially on February 19, 2024. The federal government paid the ASUU members four months of their withheld salaries.
The University teachers, despite the government's gesture, were still unhappy at what they viewed as piecemeal payment. They demanded full payment of their salaries for the eight month period of their strike action. They equally rejected the newly-constituted governing councils of the universities and instead, called on the government to implement the renegotiated 2009 agreements by the Professor Nimi Briggs Committee.
But the question remains: will the government play ball with ASUU?. NNL.
