By Pwanagba Agabus, Jos
The Academic State Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday said its struggle over the years is a patriotic one aimed at repositioning Nigerian Universities to compete globally.
The Union also said instead of addressing the issues at stake for the good of the University system, sadly the “Nigerian government and its hatchet men” prefer to “blackmail, mudsling and badmouth” the Union, trying to make it look like ASUU’s insistence on the implementation of the 2009 agreement is an impossible task.
This was disclosed by ASUU University of Jos, branch chairperson while addressing members, before a protest walk from its Secretariat to the gate of the University in Jos.
Maigoro said, “It is no longer news that the Nigerian University system is currently facing its most severe existential threat from the unpatriotic Nigerian ruling class.
“Over the the years, the systematic neglect, chronic underfunding and the lack of attention given to the Nigerian University system and by extension, the Nigerian educational system has led to a downward slide and challenges for the Nigerian public universities to compete globally.
“The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the umbrella body of lecturers in the Nigerian public universities in its patriotic quest for improvement in the Nigerian public education system engaged previous and current Nigerian governments with the aim of addressing and arresting this slide into decadence.
According to him, “These engagements had over the years resulted in the creation of the tertiary education fund (TETFUND), the NEEDS assessment funds and other streams of funding in order to revitalize and set our public University system on the path for greatness and thus compete globally.
“Sadly, rather than reciprocate this patriotic gesture by the Union, our government through the ruling class has preferred to play to the gallery in addition to the systematic impoverishment of the same lecturers- a case of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.!
“This was clearly demonstrated with the recent refusal of government to recognize, accept and implement the reports of the re-negotiation committee it freely, and willingly set up to renegotiate the 2009 agreement it freely and willingly entered with ASUU”, he explained.
Recall that the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement in its most basic form addresses three key issues; University autonomy,
Funding for revitalization of all public universities and Welfare of the academics working in the system.
“Sadly, rather than make concerted attempts at addressing these issues as contained in the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, the Nigerian government through its hatchet man, Dr. Chris Ngige preferred to ambush ASUU with a vexatious court judgement.
“ASUU been a responsible and law abiding Union, and being patriotic decided to suspend the strike action coupled with the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“As a responsible Union, we will not join FGN in destroying the Public University System for their Private Universities to prosper”, he further explained.
“ASUU members are more Law-abiding and patriotic than some FGN officials. It has now been clearly demonstrated that the FGN is the enemy of students, their parents and the Public University System as a whole”, Maigoro decried.
“Rather than address the issues at stake for the good of the University system, the Nigerian government and its hatchet men preferred to blackmail, mudsling and badmouth ASUU trying to make it look like ASUU’s insistence on the implementation of the 2009 agreement is an impossible task that may affect the finances of the country.
“While ASUU and its members, weathered the storm of salary denial in the 8 months of the just suspended struggle, government through its agent, the Minister of Labour and Employment decided to implement an illegal policy of ‘No work No Pay’ on the Nigerian lecturers who are fighting for the survival of the Nigerian public Universities.
“It is worth mentioning at this point that ASUU, despite the fact that it is fighting a just cause decided to obey a strange court order to suspend its strike even though we all know that this same government is in serial disobedience of series of court orders.
“ASUU University of Jos Branch says ‘No’ to the casualisation of Nigerian University Academics through the payment of pro rata salary as well as the withholding of our 8 months salaries.
“In addition, we condemn the mischievous IPPIS platform as a means of amputating our hard-earned wages as well as a tool for criminal diversion of part of our salaries to private pockets using unverified deductions.
“We wonder why despite the yearly audit report by Nigeria’s auditor general indicting IPPIS of billions of naira, the government is still insisting on using apart from its gross violation of the University autonomy Act”, he maintained.
“Our branch in University of Jos calls on the Nigerian public to impress upon the government on the need to adhere and honour agreements it freely and willingly entered with our Union including the conclusion of the renegotiation of the ASUU-FG 2022 agreement chaired by Prof Nimi Briggs.
He further stated that, “By absconding and unilaterally abandoning the negotiation table, the Nigerian government and its cronies have shown to the whole world their hatred for University education.
“In fact, they have clearly shown they do not want the common man to have access to University education. They would rather prefer that University education goes out of the reach of most Nigerians so that they would remain ignorant for easy manipulation”, he lamented.
“Globally, all nations who have made any significant progress economically, technologically, socio-culturally and in the area of health care delivery gave priority and focus in the education and the improvement in their educational structures and system.
“But in contrast, what we have in Nigeria today is a deliberate and systematic attempt at destroying the very foundation and system that our founding fathers laid for the growth of the nation.
“Little wonder, Nigeria is faced with several existential challenges because of the deliberate act of destroying the educational system by the current ruling class.
“It is on the basis of the above issues bedevilling the Nigerian public Universities that our national body has directed the Bauchi zone of our union to hold this protest congress meeting, protest march, lecture free day and press release to register our concern on the deliberate attempt by some agents of government to destroy public Universities.
The Union call on all well-meaning Nigerians, the press and all stakeholders in the Nigerian educational project to as a matter of urgency stand up to defend the future of Nigerian educational system by calling the current government to order.
“We would like to remind the public that ASUU struggle is a patriotic one aimed at repositioning Nigerian Universities to compete globally”, Maigoro stressed.
Also speaking, Prof. Friday Nwoke, said, during the negotiations with ASUU, Dr Chris Ngige, who is the Minister of Labour, ought to have appointed a conciliator, “unfortunately, he did not, rather was playing that role”.
According to him, the No work, no pay being implemented against ASUU is “unconstitutional”.
