The Academic Staff Union of Universities Wants Nigerians to Support its Crusade to Government’s Provision of Quality Education.
By: Muhammad Babayo ASHA
The Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU has expressed concern over failure of successive governments to give the deserved attention to the development and provision of quality education to the Nigerian citizens.
The ASUU Chairperson Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi Dr Ibrahim Inuwa Ibrahim who made the feeling of the union known during a press briefing said the aim is to update Nigerians on developments since the suspension of their last national strike action in October, 2022.
” ….. this position of the union is consistent with section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended….. this section states that “government shall direct its policy towards ensuring that there are equal and adequate educational opportunities to the citizens at all levels”….. the provision of access to quality education not only basic education, but including tertiary education is a matter of national interest and patriotism…. this is because, no nation is able to develop to its full potentials where its citizens are poorly educated and their access to education is limited and obstructed by the lackadaisical attitude of the political class ….” Dr Ibrahim Inuwa said.
Comrade Inuwa Ibrahim noted that ASUU suspended it strike as a result of a court injunction and appeal from well-meaning Nigerians to afford government opportunity to address pending issues.
According to him the issues include renegotiation of Federal Government and ASUU 2009, Withheld Salary Agreement, Arrears of Earned Academic Allowances.
” …… the Federal Government has lately been evasive on payment of the backlog of the Earned Academic Allowances EAA, part of which was captured in the 2023 National Budget for Federal Universities….. the December 2020 Memorandum of Action MOA between Federal Government and ASUU reaffirmed the mainstreaming of EAA into lecturers’ salaries… it should be noted at this point that these allowances have been earned by our members who have done excess work…. we therefore wonder why it must take another strike action for government to release lecturers entitlements….” Dr Ibrahim Inuwa lamented.
Others are Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information. System IPPIS, Proliferation of Universities, Underfunding of Universities, Deepening Socio-Economic Crisis among others.
” …..the union is not unaware of the terrible economic situation of the country occasioned by free fall in the value of Naira vis-à-vis the Dollar, the distortion in the petroleum sector, corruptly called “subsidy removal”…. this has ushered in a regime of high cost of transportation, unaffordable prices of commodities, job losses and ballooning joblessness depicting a general atmosphere of despair and despondency in country….” The ASUU Chairperson explained.
” …. you will agree with me that the failure of government to provide effective measures that would cushion the effect of its anti-poor policies has further pushed Nigerians deeper into the pit of despair….. the growing rate of insecurity occasioned by the activities of bandits, kidnappers and Boko haram insurgency have continued to make the life of ordinary Nigerian miserable and hopeless as they live in perpetual state of fear…… the ordinary Nigerian farmer can no longer go to farm due to insecurity, those who are relatively safe also cannot till their farms due to the high cost of fertilizer’ and other farm inputs …..” He said.
The ATBU ASUU Chairperson has drawn attention of Nigerians on the consistent failure of the Federal Government to honour agreements and fulfil promises bothering on the welfare of their members among other things.
While noting that struggle for a better, improved and affordable quality education for Nigerians is not that of ASUU alone Comrade Inuwa Ibrahim called on parents, students and youth not to stand and watch from afar but work to ensure that government do the needful.
” ….. we therefore, call on all patriots in the media, labour movement, student groups and civil society organisations and all other stakeholders to join our resolve to reposition the Nigerian university system for a transformed Nigeria….. we reiterate the fact that the suspension of our strike in 2022 was a patriotic act based on trust for those who intervened…. we sincerely hope and wish that our union will not be compelled to resume the strike in the nearest future ….” Comrade Inuwa added.
