ASUU strike: Where is Mr President Buhari?
” …The beautiful ones are not yet born while the ugly ones refuse to die”…
By Ayei Kwei Armah published in 1968
By Comrade Gbenga Olowoyo fcia fipma JP
The recent happening in the Education Sector is a serious call for sober reflection and need deeper thought on how best to get out of the woods from all stakeholders in the country and from this very warrisome scenario.
It is very sickening and frustrating that various appeals from well meaning Nigerians, stakeholders inclusive have ended in the deaf ears of both Federal Government and ASUU leadership, this is very pathetic.
It is not only appalling but also condemnable that various efforts to stimulate and evoke the necessary and appropriate attention of Federal Government to the cons of this industrial action to the education sector is not making sense to Mr President Buhari, the Federal Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu and Minister of Labour and employment Dr Chris Ngige because their attitudes and pranks are beyond the understanding of reasonable human being.
It will be recalled that in recent time Federal Government invited all Chairmen of Governing councils, Pro Chancellors and Vice Chancellors of Federal Universities in Nigeria as well as many emeritus Professors to a meeting in order to find lasting solution to the teething problems facing Nigeria Universities due to the current avoidable strike action and many far reaching decisions were taken with a view of resolving the matter.
To the chagring of Nigerians, lecturers, students ,parents and guardians, Federal Government decided to sue ASUU only God knows why Federal Government took that decision at this injury time of resolving the matter.
There is no gainsaying in the fact that under industrial relations practices, the sanctity of collective bargaining can not be traded off by the two parties involved in crisis settlement. Federal Government has failed in this regard because Federal Government resorted to mere award when it announced percentage salary increase to Professors and other categories of lecturers and other demands without seeking for the input of the concerned as claimed by the Federal Government ; this is not acceptable because there is no formal agreement or memorandum of understanding binding the two parties involved in the negotiation.
To the surprise of everybody, It is either Government teams are not sincere to Mr President Buhari or they are deliberately misleading the President in order to take wrong decision which is now hunting the government for their non commitment and insincerity to their various claims.
It is no more news that in a decent clime where government is very sensitive, responsive and responsible to the plights of its citizenry, little actions are needed to stir up proactive actions from the government In order to nip in the bud these type of tractable problems that can cause incalculable destruction to any sensitive sector of the society such as economy, education among others, but Nigeria leadership situation is very indescribable because they derive joy and happiness in phycological trauma of lecturers, students, parents, guardians and other investors.
It is a sign of wickedness on the part of the political leaders when resources required to address these institutional demands from ASUU are being channelled to assist other countries around the world such as Afghanistan, Niger Republic among others while Mr President, Mr Vive President (in recent time) Ministers and other top government functionaries are junketing around the world on the aegis of State visit, working visit and even condolence visit while the hope and future of this country are left to suffer helplessly, when the active segment of the Nigeria population are outside the four walls of tertiary institutions due to this ruinous strike action.
It is very expedient to say it loud and clear that Mr President Buhari has not shown the expected emphathy of a good father, grand father and great grand father to the present generation of youths and students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
It is equally important to bring it to the consciousness of entire discerning Nigerians that Major General Mohammodu Buhari (rtd) has ruled over four generations of Nigerians, as Head of State in 1983- July 1985, those who were born then are now 39 years old. Grand Father Buhari Was elected as President since 2014 till date apart from different military and political appointments he had enjoyed in Nigeria since 1973 those who were born around this time are now 49 years old.
What a wasted and passive generations!!!
If in the present day Nigeria, President Buhari can not show emphathy and use his political will to get our children back to school then the place of history will not favour him.
It is unfortunate that the present generation who are suffering this maladministration, nepotism, dictatorship and high handedness will form nucleus of leaders at different levels of positions of responsibilities tomorrow , hence, this harrowing experience will form part of reference point tomorrow just like the tenure of Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida and Ibrahim Abacha whose tenures witnessed closures of Universities for two years (which people like us will not forget in hurry) the experience of yesteryears are now reincarnating under democratic dispensation. What a country of gamblers and wasters of human resources.
The continuous strike action is a minus to the overall development of the country ; is it manpower development, is it man hour, is it technological development, is it economic development, is it financial development , is it educational development, what of the wasted years of the innocent youths and students who are the direct victims of this heartless disposition of the Federal Government.
There is no regard to key players in the education sector, an intellectual personality. If an egg head had been appointed as Minister of Education, such personality would have understood the terrain than a mismatch appointee who was appointed as a Minister of Education on political patronage. This is devastating!!!
It is a good development to see body of Pro Chancellors and Vice Chancellors coming together as peace team in order to intervene in the mindlessness of the Federal Government and find solution to the problem because they are key players in intellectual communiy: People like former Pro Chancellor of university of Calabar Senator Nkechi Nwagogu, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri Professor J D Amin and former Vice Chancellor of the university of Ibadan emeritus Professor A.O Bamiro among others are men of intellectual timber and caliber that should find a neutral and melting ground towards resolving the issue; nothwithstanding that the matter is now before the National industrial Court.
The efforts of the National Association of Nigerian students (NANS) under new and authentic leadership aiming at scaling up advocacy for the purpose of fast tracking quick resolution of the ASUU and Federal Government imbroglio are commendable because it is an approach that is better than reading news and stories of suicide by students and youths on account that the current situation is not only frustrating but also traumatic.
It will be recalled that many students have died either in kidnapper den , banditry, social insecurity, ritualists among others, while one lecturer died because there was no money to buy drug and another lecturer committed suicide. These are not the best narrations for Nigeria socio political space.
It is regrettable that Minister of Works, Babatunde Raji Fashola can open his mouth and condemn the protest of NANS that took place along Lagos/Ibadan highway because as intellectually inclined as Babatunde Raji Fashola , he should have used his good offices as Minister of Federal Republic of Nigeria to talk to his colleague in the Federal Ministry of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu but to no avail.
Instead of Babatunde Raji Fashola to appeal to the students and help his colleague to address this problem which would have attracted kudos to him but had chosen path of destructive history to himself because of pot of porridge and office pecks. It is very instructive and expedient to remind Babatunde Raji Fashola of his outburst during one of the political campaigns in the past that his own generation was not wasted, now why is the Federal Government hell bent to waste and frustrate present generation of Nigerian students and youths for no just cause or fault of theirs.
Mr President Buhari enough of passive and ineptitude attitude to the present problem bedeviling the education sector in Nigeria. This headstrong, hardline and stubborn approach does not add value to the personality of the Major General Mohammadu Buhari the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, his government and all the political appointees; Dr Chris Ngige Minister of Labour and employment had thought that he is everything and he can do whatever he likes but posterity will take its place one day. They should remember the epic novel “Heart of Darkness” written by Joseph Conrad a Polish novelist and published in 1899.
In my candid opinion, the place of National Industrial Court in this circumstance is not only novel but also charitable because the Court which is statutorily established to adjudicate on industrial dispute matters, hence, the court will help to get middle level for the aggrieved parties so as to rescue millions of Nigerian students and youths and get them back to school
It is very annoying that after several years of self independence, Nigerian political leaders cannot decipher what is right from wrong hence, the International Labour Organisations (ILO) has resolved to intervene in the dispute as shown by the Nigeria country Director Vanessa Phala’s disposition to the endless ASUU strike crisis.
Mr President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is hereby called upon to address this issue timely and squarely.
On the protest by the NANS leadership, nobody can punish them for their actions because enough of deceit and government ineptitude.
“We know the protest might lead to suffering for other road users, we decided to do that because we knew that our parents were doing nothing. We want them to also feel the heat; we are sending a signal to the Federal Government and our parents,” said Comrade Emmanuel Olatunji who is the NANS South West coordinator.
According to him, “We will protest at different locations Where we know that it might affect the federal government. After doing this protest at two and three major highways then we will move the protest to Government Parastatals and ground the system.”
I, as a concerned individual and patriotic citizen of Nigeria, l, hereby, call on President Mohammadu Buhari to see good reason to arrest and find solution to this dangerous dimension the strike action by ASUU and other unions in tertiary institutions had drifted to in Nigeria, honestly, the place of history is very important, Mr President Buhari may say that he is old but history is always very young and fresh whenever it is told
“Should our husband go mad again ? Never, we do not want our husband to go mad again” apology to Ola Rotimi.
A word is enough for the wise
Comrade Gbenga Olowoyo fcia fipma JP is a Trade Unionist and industrial relations practitioner
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