The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday says that the Federal government of Nigeria has not shown regard for tertiary education with the way it treats the welfare and conditions of service of its intellectuals in public universities.
The Union has however maintained that it will not abandon the fight to have decent welfare and conditions of service for her members and will ensure that governments commit adequate funding to the revitalization of public Universities in the interest of the children of the masses.
The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan Chapter, Dr Adefemi Afolabi stated this on Thursday while featuring on “Situation Room”, a radio program in Ibadan
ASUU commenced two-week warning strike on Monday to protest the failure of the federal government to sign the renegotiated draft agreement reached the committee Yayale Ahmed committee set-up by the Tinubu-led government to renegotiate with the Union which concluded its sittings over 8months.
According to Dr Afolabi, the federal government took ASUU for granted for over eight months adding that the Union was not happy to proceed on the warning strike but was forced to the delay tactic approach that the federal government adopted as well as its posture to jettison principle of collective bargaining.
The ASUU boss stated that the union waited for 8 months, organized protests to sensitize Nigerians on the need for the government to sign the draft renegotiated agreement with the government committee headed by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed but the government came back with a new committee to start the engagement all over.
This, according to the Union, is a waste of time and resources and an indication that “government was only interested in wasting our time and not ready to resolve the welfare and conditions of service of lecturers”
Sadly, Dr. Afolabi noted that there is a wave of resignation of high-profile professors in Nigeria’s public universities who are relocating abroad in search of greener pastures for themselves and their families.
Apart from Professors’ resignation, Dr. Afolabi lamented that young lecturers who were recently employed are also resigning as they were shocked about the salaries and conditions of service when they were paid.
“We don’t work in an ideal environment. How do you reward your intellectuals with so little and still expect them to be happy and continue to work? Our strike is based on a lack of trust in this federal government because their approach is not different from the previous ones. You do not want to strike, but government policies disrupt livelihoods and survivals of lecturers with galloping inflation. How can you not trust your own committees and will still come up with another committee to review what the last committee did and then set-up another expanded committee to meets with the Union again?. Now the situation is terrible. Lecturers are finding it difficult to come to the office due to the high cost of transportation. Those who come can not concentrate due to many unmet needs. Now, professors are voluntarily resigning and relocating abroad while first class graduates don’t even show interest in lecturing, not to talk of applying for the job. These events have consequences for the future of university education in Nigeria”
