ASUU’s red flag: The undesirability of another strike for the education system

Issues of industrial action in Nigeria have become a reoccurring phenomenon which have coloured Labour activities in the Country. Such industrial actions have largely been borne by grievances of unsavoury working conditions by workers in the Country. The echoes of the reverberation more often than not largely resound from those under the employment of the Government. While several bodies such as those of the judiciary and the health sector, have continued to resort to strikes to express their grievances, the incessant occasions from the part of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have been on the leading burner when it comes to the Country’s education sector.

The grounds for the incessant occasions of such strikes, from time to time, have largely been informed by the breaches of agreements on the part of the Government to honour promises made to address grievances of inconducive working conditions by the stakeholders. The possibilities of another strike by ASUU may be ticking as the body of intellectuals have again lamented the breach of Agreement by the Federal Government reached on the demands of the Union. The Union last Thursday had lamented that only two of its eight demands have so far been met by the Federal Government in the last nine months, after it called off a nine month old strike in December, 2020.

It would be recalled that ASUU had on 23rd December, 2020, following a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) reached between the Union and the Federal Government, called off the lingered strike which left the sector in shambles. At a briefing to declare the Union’s resolve, ASUU National President, Biodun Ogunyemi, had then warned that the Union would return to the strike in any case of breach of the Agreements reached.

Against this backdrop, revelations came last Thursday with grievances from the Union that majority of the demands have not been honoured.  The Ibadan Zone of the Union had made this  known in a statement after its meeting last week at the Ladoke Akintola University (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso chaired by its Coordinator in LAUTECH, Prof. Oyebamiji Oyegoke. Others in attendance were: the Chairpersons from University of Ibadan, Prof. Ayo Akinwole; UNILORIN, Prof. Moyosore Ajao; LAUTECH, Dr Biodun Olaniran and KWASU, Dr Shehu Salau. The Coordinator, Oyegoke, following the meeting had in the statement threatened that strike was “a ticking bomb,” expressing the possibilities that the educational system would be engulfed in another crisis. According to him, issues on proliferation of State universities, release of withheld salaries and non-remittance of check-off dues of Unions, which were all contained in the December 22, 2020 MoA have not been addressed.  On the subject of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) versus University Transparency Account System (UTAS), he had explained that withholding salaries for months, non-release of the earned academic allowances (EAA), non-payment of check-off dues accruing to the Union, in spite of what ASUU has demonstrated, could only be an invitation to another possible cycle of industrial actions.

He had said, “For the avoidance of doubt, ASUU stated that only salary shortfall and setting up of Visitation Panels to the Federal Government-owned universities have been addressed by the government in nine months. Other demands such as the renegotiation of conditions of service, injection of revitalisation funds, payment of earned academic allowances, implementation of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) have not been addressed. The claim by the Minister of Labour and Employment that the money allocated for Revitalisation of Public Universities had been paid as contained in the MoA of 2020, cannot be true. The same Minister confirmed on  Aug. 2, 2021 that the money is still in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), only awaiting application by the Minister of Education for eventual transfer to the NEEDS Assessment Fund Account. That government is working hard to facilitate the release of money by the CBN since January 2021 leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

“Moreover, UTAS avowed suitability has been demonstrated admirably to the Minister of Education and members of his team, the Honourable Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. And other key stakeholders like Ministries of Labour and Employment; Education, Finance, Office of the Accountant-General, representatives of Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). The more the government insists on fulfilling the demands of integrity test on UTAS, the longer will be the accompanying pains earlier identified in IPPIS will stay our members.”

Oyegoke had disclosed that at a reconciliation meeting between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the leadership of ASUU on Monday, Aug 02, 2021, at the Conference Room of the Minister of Labour and Employment, all contentious  matters affecting the outstanding issues as regard the  implementation of 2020 FGN/ASUU MoA were discussed. He was quoted: “The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, on behalf of the Federal Government, promised that a broader government team and inter-ministerial committee on the draft  renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement would conclude its work and submit the report to government by the end of August, 2021. The meeting concluded with an agreement to reconvene by the end of August 2021 to ascertain the faithfulness of the Federal Government in resolving the outstanding issues. We are in the second week of September, 2021, nothing positive from the Federal Government so far.”

The narratives of breaches of Agreements on the part of the Federal Government on promises reached with Labour Unions in the Country over time have become a phenomenon reflective of wrong patterns of governance. The frequency of the disposition, particularly with ASUU which has been a major sufferer of such breaches, speaks ill of what good governance is. Such disposition has over the time led to showdown which were borne out of loss of confidence and trust in the Government. The resort of Labour Unions to industrial actions with resolute disposition to remain hell bent to explore every ground to guide against being conned by the Government, would be observed not to be unconnected with the years of breaches of Agreements which have been the grounds for orientation of distrust and loss of confidence in the Government.

It is pathetic that the Country’s education sector has remained within the clog of inconsistencies over issues of long grievances left unattended to, despite reoccurring grievances by stakeholders. The subject, particularly as it relates to higher academic institutions in the Country, has left tingling narratives, which by and large, infuse inconsistencies altering academic calendars of higher academic institutions in the Country. The resultant impacts have left an education system entangled with drawbacks of fluctuations. The alteration the COVID-19 pandemic has posed to the education system in the Country is too straining to afford further disruptions which may arise from another industrial action by ASUU. It is therefore pertinent for the Federal Government to, as swiftly as possible attend to the demands of ASUU with alacrity, holding in view the necessity to honour the MoA which embodies the demands of the Union as agreed last December.