The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has been intervening to resolve the oft strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, for many years. In 2013, NLC intervened in the ASUU strike by writing to the presidency to devise modality to resolve the six months’ academic strike. In 2021, the union again played a vital role the resolve the standoff between the federal government and ASUU for the sake of university students.
Since ASUU embarked on another strike in February 2022, NLC has been making efforts to end the strike all to no avail because the federal government is not willing to meet the demands of the academic staff union.
ASUU wants government to use its own invented platform for payment of its staff. The University Transparency and Accountability Solutions, UTAS, is the main headlock of the unending strike by ASUU. ASUU wants the replacement of IPPIS payment system. The rejection of the IPPIS payment platform by ASUU is because some agencies are exempted from it .
The CBN, FIRS, NNPC, political office holders at all levels are not on IPPIS. To ASUU, if government is truly fighting corruption they should integrate everyone in the IPPIS since corruption is minimal with academic staff than politicians.
Also, ASUU wants improvement of the condition of learning in Nigerian universities. To ASUU, without its struggles, Nigerian universities will be glorified primary schools; with no materials for learning, no incentives for research, no good teaching materials and good condition of learning.
ASUU has been lamenting on the increasing number of Nigerians studying abroad due to the poor condition of Nigerian tertiary institutions. ASUU blames Nigerian government for neglecting Nigerian institutions while the authorities in power send their children outside to study.
In 2014, the children of President Muhammadu Buhari graduated from a London university. Also, the sons of Governors Nasir Elrufai and Nyesome Nwike of Kaduna and Rivers states, respectively, graduated from a London university, recently while Nigerian universities have shut for over six months.
Finding shows that Nigeria is the leading African country with high number of students abroad and on the part of ASUU, the problem should be attributed to government for inadequate funding of education.
At this time of unionism, not only for NLC, all academic staff of Nigerian schools should support this crusade, students in Nigeria and abroad should key into this, all Nigerian parents should join in the hope for better future of Nigerian education, and all workers and traders should participate in this as a chance to come to the aid of Nigerian students, because it is clear to the common man in Nigeria that Nigerian universities are his properties as the children of his leaders patronise foreign universities.
July 26 and 27 are days to support the progress of Nigerian education. This is an opportunity to raise our voices for a better Nigerian education and for the brighter future of our dear mother land.
Auwal Ahmed Ibrahim (Goronyo),
Kaduna Polytechnic,
Kaduna
