By Rauf Oyewole, Bauchi
Activities at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi have been paralysed following the seven-day warning strike embarked upon by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union under the umbrella of the Joint Action Committee.
When Nigerian NewsDirect visited the Yelwa Campus of the varsity, it was observed that the two gates leading to the University were under lock and key to prevent entry or exit – including cars and motorcycles – in the campus.
Cars and motorcycle owners had to turn back because of the situation at the University gate. However, the small gate was open to staff and students to go in or out on foot, as many of them were seen trekking into and out of the school.
While they were manning the gate, some management staff led by the Deputy Vice Chancellor Academic and acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sarki Fagam, arrived at the gate and appealed to the members of the unions to open one of the gates to allow for free flow of vehicular movements.
He said that although their actions were legal and a national directive, it was imperative for the management to appeal to them to shift grounds a bit in view of the fact that students were currently writing examinations.
“The reason we are here is because we are members of this university and we benefited from this organisation and our children are there writing examinations. They have no light, they have no water and access to the University is also blocked, we all acknowledge that.
“We discussed with the leadership of your unions yesterday, they said they’re going to meet with you (the members). We did not hear anything from them, maybe you refused to tell them to go back to us. That was why we came here to see you.
“We just want to beg, solicit and appeal to you although we are not saying you shouldn’t strike, strike is a legal apparatus to be employed by workers to achieve their rights.
“We want to beg you to, please open just one gate and leave the other one closed, so that human and vehicular traffic can flow and do not allow any of your members to enter so that you can have a total strike,” he appealed.
Fagam commended the unions for their conduct saying that, “I am happy with your attitude and conduct that none of you interrupted the examinations going on. Examinations are going on, it is just the entering and going out that is hindered, but I am still begging you to open one of the gates.”
In an interview with journalists, the JAC Chairman, Sulisma Jatau, said that the Federal Government remained adamant to the 14 days ultimatum it gave them to meet their demands or they’ll embark on the strike action.
“After the expiration of these ultimatums, the response was like a graveyard response. And since they renege to come and dialogue with us, the only language the government understands is strike and that was why we decided to embark on it.
“This seven day warning strike is to tell the government that we are not happy with their disposition and as you can see that close to 48 hours now, the University gate has been closed and I can tell you that the strike is 100 percent compliant.”
Jatau who is also the SSANU Chairman, ATBU, while giving reasons for the industrial action, said that in 2009, they entered into an agreement with the Federal Government which was freely signed but up to this moment, about 15 years later, the agreements are yet to be honoured pointing out that “It was freely entered, nobody coarsed the government to enter into it; although some of them were honoured, but many of them have not been respected up to this moment.”
He said that some of such agreements are payment of their earned allowances, constitution of visitation panels, university governing councils and salary increase.
“So, we pressed home our demands two years ago and they ended up enforcing a no-work-no-pay on us which ended up in us staying for six months without salaries. After signing a document with the Federal Government by the then Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, but up to now, this agreement has not been implemented,” He added.