THE temporary peace that returned to the country's ivory towers after the one week warning strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) following the inability of the federal government to implement the 2009 agreement may soon be a thing of the past. The National Executive Council (NEC) of the union is billed to meet at an emergency NEC meeting, at the University of Abuja, next week Friday, 14th October, 2011 to take a decision.The NEC meeting is expected to discuss, among other things, the review of the seven days warning strike.Nigerian Tribune learnt that ASUU's demand was the implementation of the 2009 agreement which would be due for renewal by July 2012 if it was implemented in the first place. It also learnt that the union, sensing the danger in not honouring the previous agreement, sees no way the government will review it by next year, hence its decision to remind the government of the agreement.In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, ASUU chairman, University of Ibadan branch, Dr Ademola Aremu, said that the federal government had demonstrated that it could not be trusted again. He said that both the Federal Government and the union reached an agreement on the funding of the university, review of retirement age for the academic staff, salaries, condition of service, university autonomy, among others, but said that the Federal Government failed to fulfill its part of the agreement.'The Federal Government has demonstrated that it cannot be trusted. Why is it difficult for it to honour an agreement we signed together. Even the chairman of the implementation committee, Wale Babalakin, pro-chancellor, University of Maiduguri and the chairman, Committee of Pro-Chancellors in Nigeria, expressed his frustration through a paid advertorial. It seems that the government is not ready to implement the agreement and we're not ready to allow such,' Aremu said.From 2000 to 2010, Nigerian Tribune reliably gathered that the nation's ivory tower recorded about 10 indefinite strike actions, which amounts to one strike per academic session. This situation might not be unconnected with the lowering standard of education in Nigeria, 51 years after independence. Nigeria is a signatory to the United Nations and UNESCO conventions that request member nations to commit at le-ast 26 per cent of their resources to education annually. But it was gathered that the government's vote for the educational sector has ranged between seven and 10 per cent.With the position of ASUU, how ready is the government to forestall another long time strike action which may be the final straw from ASUU/NEC meeting next week. The Federal Government failed in its effort to stop the warning strike. The meeting in that regard ended in a deadlock. However, the Federal Government's delegation, led by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, and which had in attendance the Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyat Rufa'i, in attendance, was able to broker a deal, giving the implementation committee till November to conclude deliberations.Nigerian Tribune gathered that the implementation committee would work with the federal ministries of Finance, Labour and Productivity and the Budget Office.With all eyes on the new implementation committee to find a lasting solution to the non-implementation of the agreement, stakeholders are of the opinion, that dialogue, rather than strike option would have resolved the issue, arguing that the education sector had suffered from various strike actions in the past.On that, Dr. Aremu said the union had exhausted all means to avoid strike actions.Said he 'We dialogued, lobbied and did everything even involving the National Assembly members to make sure our demands are met but all to no avail. Our problem in this country is that we lack the will to honour our agreement. We've been pushed to the wall, that's why we embarked on warning strike which is due for review soonest.'The decision of the ASUU to take its fate in its hands is as a result of the downfall in welfare of the academic staff. Before independence, the National Universities Commission (NUC), in one of its publications revealed that, 'only the Chief Justice of the Federation, on an annual salary of 3,600.00 earned more than a university professor. Not only were university lecturers better than their civil service counterparts, fringe benefits such as housing, allowances, social status and working conditions were very attractive, making academics the envy of civil servants. Adequate funding of universities, attending overseas conferences every three years, and such other fringe benefits were the order of the day. The prevailing economic situation in Nigeria was such that the annual salary of a lecturer was sufficient to buy a car and so the liquidation of a car loan in five years was not a strain.'But when things changed, the union took a militancy form to press home its demand. And since then, ASUU has not looked back in its challenge to regain its lost status in the country.Defending the action of the federal government by not honouring the agreement, the minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr. Emeka Wogu, said: 'What is most important is the state of the nation. Are we going to be able to take the challenges that will come with shutting the universities, the answer is no and they believe that we should not go to that extent.'Because when you go to that extent, that means that you will drive people home, the students will now go into the streets and we are complaining that most of our students are involved in some unwholesome activities. So, they promised that they will quickly look into it and urged government to equally keep terms with the agreement.'At the end of the meeting, we all agreed that the implementation committee that has been in place since 2009 should be expanded to include the Minister of Finance or the representative of the Finance Minister who is equally the Coordinating Minister of the Economy. It will include Minister of Labour and Productivity and the Budget Office.'Wogu said that the committee will look at the issues contained in the 2009 agreement and the issues that have militated against its implementation and come up with a position that will suit all parties.As it stands, it remains to be seen who among the two bodies would bend over its decision. However, most parents and students have kept on praying that a truce should be reached as soon as possible so that the nation's educational sector can regain its lost glory.
Click here to read full news..
