By Andrew A. Erakhrumen
None, except those we will be mentioning later, should be ecstatic that a storm may be gathering again! Where? It is in the Nigerian public universities’ skies! Will there be a rain or not? No one can give a definite “yes” or “no” answer for now! The type of rain being envisaged – if need be – is also unknown! Unfortunately, this increasingly cloudy firmament, as usual, is not coincidental as there are certain characters – in the civil service/governmental bureaucracy – that always benefit from the chaos resulting from this kind of deliberately-arranged and sustained ‘misunderstanding’ that is not a misunderstanding in the first place! The issues, here, concerning the publicly-owned universities, in Nigeria, have roots in regularly recounted historical events but let us start from the recent past when “…..members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)…..reluctantly activated their suspended strike, with a four-week roll-over strike, on the 14th of February, 2022 after ASUU-National Executive Council (NEC) Meeting of 12th to 13th of February, 2022, held at University of Lagos, Lagos…..” To give more time for the issues in dispute to be addressed, this action was rolled-over “…..on the 14th of March, 2022, for another eight weeks, after ASUU’s Emergency NEC Meeting of 13th of March, 2022 at University of Abuja, Abuja…..” To cut the story short, that action later became indefinite, lingering till 14th of October, 2022.
During the industrial action, lecturers in federal and certain state universities were unpaid of what was (and still is) being referred to as “salary” between March and October, 2022! They were punished for daring to ask questions! Are slaves entitled to asking questions? They were humiliated and rubbished, so it seemed, by a group of opportunistic mediocrities with unconcealable and unconcealed anti-intellectual posture only experienced with dictatorial governments that were unelected and undemocratic! Is Nigeria not still being governed by the same group of people? Among these unrepentant anti-intellectuals is Adamu Twice “The Confused Journalist” who was thought to be an ASUU’s friend but turned out to not be! These characters were willingly, gladly and excitedly represented by one Chris Ngige who claimed, then, to be the “chief conciliator of industrial disputes in the country” but was always behaving “…..like a conspirator…..grandstanding through the media, muddling up issues and heating up the system…..” The Ngige and some members of his group of anti-intellectuals left office since 29th of May, 2023 but where are those that replaced them? Or, is the same story continuing? With the way things are, now, it appears so because those in government, especially at the federal level, cannot claim ignorance of what led to the 2022 industrial action we earlier referred to! In fact, before assuming office, a lot of promises (typical of Nigerian politicians) were made by those currently in government concerning resolving the said crisis.
Just to refresh your mind, the issues leading to the 2022 industrial action by ASUU are anchored on government’s betrayal of trust concerning the items encapsulated in the 2009 Federal Government of Nigeria/ASUU Agreement, 2012 and 2013 Memoranda of Understanding and 2017 and 2019 Memoranda of Action including other unfortunate developments. As it is known with ASUU, the members have patiently waited to see what the ‘new’ government have in stock especially concerning the excruciating economic pain caused by the astronomical increases in the price of premium motor spirit and other items in the market. What has been the response of this Federal Government to the groaning of the people? Taxes and more taxes! People with an already weak capacity to produce are now being taxed the more to get poorer! Of course, as it has always been, members of ASUU are neither exempted from nor protected against the negative effects of these age-long and timeless but now-increasingly audaciously entrenched policies of premeditated pauperisation of the masses by the political elite. The country’s economy, like in the past, is still being run like a private company! If it is being well-run as such with positive results, perhaps, one would have been consoled but the case has been that of coherence in fraudulence and gross incompetence! Government (economic) policies are based on the whims and caprices of inept characters. We have always told them that all should not be about politics; they should seek help among ‘non-politicians’ since those in government are confused! It is also clearer that the current central government is unwilling to depart from the inglorious route taken by its predecessors concerning ASUU’s demands.
We have it, from reliable source, that this Federal Government will be more brutal to ASUU than its predecessor; although, we want to be proven wrong! Anyway, ASUU at its NEC Meeting of 11th to 12th May, 2024, held at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, concluded that “…..a number of issues on which ASUU has been engaging owners of public universities (Federal and State Governments) in the last one decade or so are yet to be meaningfully addressed. These include the sanctity of legally constituted governing councils; review of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement; revitalization fund for public universities; earned academic allowances; and withheld salaries, promotion arrears, and third-party deductions of our members. The others issues are illegal recruitments; proliferation of public universities/abuse of universities’ rules/processes; and treasury single account (TSA) and new IPPIS [Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System] vis-à-vis the autonomy of universities. [Based on] a critical review of the current state of affairs in our universities as well as in our nation at the last meeting, the following major decisions were taken: (1) NEC condemns in strong terms the seeming refusal of federal and state governments to decisively address all outstanding issues with the ASUU; (2) NEC rejects all the ongoing illegalities and flagrant violation of university autonomy in public universities as a result of non-reinstatement/reconstitution of Governing Councils; and (3) NEC shall reconvene after two weeks from the date of the NEC meeting to review the situation and decide on the next line of action.”
In conclusion, the main essence of this piece is to contribute to the efforts at intimating the public concerning those well-known ASUU’s unattended-to demands that have always been in the public space; certainly, these demands are not, in any way, strange to the public even as it appears that many have lost their sense of history in this country! Regrettably, once an industrial action, in the public universities, gets suspended, everyone including the government at all levels retire to deep sleep until the next provoked cycle of agitation! Serious people do not run a national life this way! A storm may appear to be gathering again; however, not all clouds result into rain! Irrespective of this, it has always been considered senseless to constantly resort to the predictable regular Nigerian “fire brigade approach” in solving an age-long challenge requiring a sustainable systematic collaboratively-developed solution. In the light of this, we had expected (and still expecting) that government should quickly do the needful and rightful regarding all the outstanding issues (leading to strikes in public universities) that we earlier mentioned. For us, one year in office is enough to solve most of the “problems” (if they are so considered) that the people in government, now, were already familiar with long before their assumption of political power.
• Erakhrumen currently teaches at the Department of Forest Resources and Wildlife Management, University of Benin, Benin City