-
Vows not to succumb to ‘political blackmail’
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has dared the Federal
Government to carry out its threat of sacking lecturers who fail to
resume on or before December 4. It said no amount of “political
blackmail”, will cow its members into submission.
ASUU, however, called on the Federal Government to activate its
machinery of implementation of the commitments made to the union.
The union promised to end the protracted strike as soon as the
implementation of outstanding agreements was done. ASUU’s position was
made known yesterday in Abuja at a press briefing by the National
President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, and other national officers.
Sounding rather confident and unruffled, Fagge accused the Federal
Government of paving the way “for privatisation of education” in the
country.
He insisted that as academics, the university lecturers “have a duty
to defend the right of Nigerians to sound public education”.
The national president conveyed the collective resolve of the union
not to succumb to the “present threat”, stressing that doing so would
amount to giving “up on Nigeria.”
“We resisted Abacha’s dictatorship”… and “refused to succumb to
Obasanjo/ IMF attempts to weaken public in favour of private
universities”, he recalled Fagge also noted that the union convinced the
late President Umaru Yar’ Adua, “to keep faith with the interests of
Nigeria’s youth and desist from privatising education.”
He accused the Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, of
“gross misrepresentation and ignorance of well-known trade union laws
and practices”.
ASUU challenged the public to ask the minister why the Federal
Government did not “respond to ASUU’s letter, expressing the union’s
understanding of the resolutions of November 4, 2013.”
The resolutions read in part: “That the non-implementation of two of
the nine items agreed in the 2009 agreement between Federal Government
and ASUU are the main contentious issues; namely: “Funding for the
revitalisation of public universities through the implementation of the
Needs Assessment
Report
on public universities. Payment of earned allowances”.
However, in a letter dated November 22, and signed by Fagge, ASUU
sought clarification on “certain uncertainties”, before “making the
relevant decision.”
According to the letter obtained by National Mirror, the
“uncertainties involve issues on which ASUU members nationwide have
strong feelings.
They are about certain gaps evident in government’s report.” ASUU’s
requests, which government insists are fresh demands, include “that the
N200 billion agreed upon as 2013 revitalisation fund for public
universities should be deposited with the CBN and disbursed to the
benefitting universities within two weeks.
“That the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement in 2014 be included in
the final document as agreed at the L-R: Former President, Trade Union
Congress, Peter Esele; First Deputy National President, Sunday Salako;
President, Bobboi discussion with Your Excel-lency.
“That a non-victimisation clause, which is normally captured in all
interactions of this nature, be included in the final document, and
“That a new memorandum of understanding shall be validly endorsed;
signed by a representative of the government, preferably the Attorney-
General of the Federation and a representative of ASUU, with the
President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, as witness.”
While insisting that it did not make any fresh demands, ASUU promised
to “bow only to what we as academics are convinced will serve the
interest of Nigeria and its people, no matter their ethnic, religious or
class origins.”
The union called on “all Nigerians who care about our country to
prevail on government to do what is just and noble as its present
approach will only compound the deepening yet avoidable crises”
bedeviling the university system.
It will be recalled that the Federal Government had, last week,
ordered vice-chancellors of federal universities, to “immediately”
reopen university campuses, for resumption of “academic and other allied
activities.”
It also directed the VCs to declare vacancies to enable the
recruitment of new lecturers in the event that the striking teachers,
whom it threatened to sack, failed to resume on or before December 4.
Interestingly, the aforesaid date coincides with the funeral of the
late former ASUU President, Prof. Festus Iyayi, who died on his way to
attend a botched National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting of the union
in Kano.
Meanwhile, the Federal University of Technology Owerri, FUTO, branch
of the union yesterday threw caution to the wind as they mobbed
journalists who came to the institution to monitor compliance with the
Federal Government’s December 4 deadline.
The angry union leaders, on sighting the journalists at the New SAAT
Auditorium where union officials were addressing the lecturers,
descended on a correspondent of National Mirror in Owerri, Imo State,
Mr. Chris Njoku. One of the union officials grabbed the journalist by
the collar while others were beating him and seized his bag, phone,
money and notepad.
It took the spirited efforts of passers-by who were piqued by the
behaviour of the lecturers to prevent the journalist from being lynched.
However, the lecturers remained adamant, saying that they would not
call off the strike until the Federal Government met their demands. At
the
University of Ibadan, the directive by the Federal Government may have suffered a setback as students stayed away from the campus.
ASUU also lashed out at the Senior Special Assistant to the President
on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, for calling the union “enemy of the
state.”
The union appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to read the letter
sent by the union to him in order to know that the union was not out to
disrespect him but give him more credibility. When our correspondents
visited the UI campus, there was no sign of resumption as all lecture
rooms remained shut and no
register opened for signatures.
Rather, the union assembled its members in a congress where it
resolved not to sign any register. The Chairman of the chapter, Dr.
Olusegun Ajiboye, said the union would ensure that government fund
public universities.
He added that the union respected the office of Mr. President, but
noted that Okupe and other sycophant advisers were trying to ridicule
the office through their unguarded utterances against the union.
At the Niger Delta University, NDU, Amassoma, Bayelsa State,
lecturers vowed not to suspend the fivemonth strike despite the
government’s threat.
Chairman of the chapter, Dr. Beke Sese, insisted that the lecturers would not return to the
class
under coercion on December 4 until their demands were met. Sese noted
that the lecturers had firmly resolved to execute the strike action to
its logical conclusion in spite of the threats.
The Federal Government had penultimate week issued a December 4
ultimatum to the ASUU to return to the classrooms or risk mass sack.
President Jonathan had, at the weekend in Yenagoa, said the strike
was more of subversion than a mere trade dispute. The ASUU chapter
chairman said Wike, for reasons best known to him, had escalated the
issues bordering on the strike action with the threat. Sese, however,
said that the national leadership of ASUU could suspend the strike after
its meeting with President Jonathan to iron out the knotty issues.
He said: “Absolutely not. We are not resuming lectures. The strike is
still on and our members are doubly resolved to execute the strike to
its logical conclusion.
“Moreover, it is just an attempt by the (Supervising) Minister of
Education, Nyesom Wike, to unnecessarily pour petrol on a dying flame for reasons best known to him.
“Because after the union met with Mr. President for 13 hours, I can
tell you that ASUU nationwide appreciated the understanding and humility
of the President to directly negotiate with our union and we were all
predisposed to a speedy suspension of the strike.”
However, academic activities resumed at the Adekunle Ajasin
University Akungba Akoko, Ondo State. Students and some lecturers of the
institution, who complied with the directive by the management of the
school to resume, were seen moving from one department to the other for lectures.
Our correspondent noticed that though lectures had not started fully in all the departments of the
school, students were seen in classes receiving lectures in some of the faculties which include arts, education and social sciences.
National Mirror learnt that the timetable for lectures and other academic activities had been released by the
school authorities for the second semester of the 2012/2013 academic session.
It was gathered that the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Femi Mimiko, met with
principal officers of the school while meetings of the heads of
departments in each of the faculties were held to ensure proper course
allocation among the lecturers.
The vice-chancellor was seen moving round the campus to monitor the
level of compliance to the directive to resume academic activities.
Speaking to journalists after the monitoring exercise, Mimiko
expressed satisfaction at the level of compliance, noting that the
development showed that about 60 per cent of the academic staff was back
on campus.
Meanwhile, the Vice- Chancellor of the
University of
Ilorin, Prof. Abdul- Ganiyu Ambali, pleaded with ASUU to end the
strike. Speaking with the National Mirror at the Ilorin International
Airport, Ambali said although his institution was not participating in
the strike action, the effect of the dispute on sister universities was
giving him much concern.
He said the trade dispute had not done anything good to the students,
parents, government, the education sector, the economy and the society
in general.
The VC pleaded with ASUU and other stakeholders to resolve the
dispute. Speaking on the two contending factions of ASUU in the
university and the alleged involvement of the institution’s management
in the division, Ambali exonerated the university’s authorities in the
division. He said the management had commenced the process of bringing
the two sides together to form one single body in the interest of all.
“As a management, we have ASUU, NASU, SSA and other unions on campus
serving the general interests of their individual members and smooth
labour atmosphere in our
university.
“All I know is that the ASUU factions are fighting for one common goal.
There is only a thin line of difference but I can tell you it will soon
come to an end,” Ambali added.
