Pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has reacted to the move by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to embark on indefinite strike action, describing the strike which commenced in February as very unfortunate, even as the group sadly noted that the strike wouldn’t have occurred in the first place had the Federal Government showed it sincerely wanted the impasse to be amicably resolved.
Afenifere spokesperson, Comrade Jare Ajayi, said this when contacted by our correspondent, noting that the manner in which the Ministers of Labour and Education, Dr. Chris Ngige and Mallam Adamu Adamu respectively were relating with ASUU officials at meetings, was was condescending if not contemptuous.
According to Afenifere chieftain, Adamu’s case is particularly disappointing going by the view he expressed on the same issue years ago when he was Editor of New Nigeria Newspapers, saying Ngige’s posture was regrettable given the fact that he is a medical doctor whose attendance of a university cannot be contested.
This was just as he observed that going by the way things were presently, not a few Nigerians would be condemning ASUU for continuing with the strike, adding that the union might indeed be described as a saboteur and insensitive to the plight of students and parents.
He, however, said doing so would be in conformity with the attitude of many Nigerians who often blamed “the weak or victim when a powerful element uses his might to oppress the weak.”
“The strike by ASUU is very unfortunate from the very beginning but it was a ‘forced one.’ Were the situation of education in the country, particularly at the tertiary level be what it ought to be, there would not have been any strike in the first place.
“And since the present one began on February 14 this year, there has not been any step taken by the Federal Government to show that it sincerely wants the impasse to be amicably resolved.
“The manner in which the Ministers of Labour and Education, Dr. Chris Ngige and Mallam Adamu Adamu were relating with ASUU officials at meetings, etc was condescending if not contemptuous.
“Adamu’s case is particularly disappointing going by the view he expressed on the same issue years ago when he was Editor of New Nigeria. And Ngige’s posture too is regrettable given the fact that he is a medical doctor whose attendance of a university cannot be contested,” Afenifere spokesperson said.
“The way things are presently, many would be condemning ASUU for continuing with the strike. Indeed, the union might be described as a saboteur and insensitive to the plight of students and parents. Doing so would be in conformity with the attitude of many of us in Nigeria where we often blame the weak or victim when a powerful element uses his might to oppress the weak,” he added.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Ajayi said it was on record that the cause of this prolong strike was the failure of the government to honour the agreement it reportedly reached with the union as far back as 2009, just as he noted that the Federal Government, through the spokesman of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Bem Goong, said that it had fulfilled about 80% of ASUU demands, without making known to the public “the specifics of the demands that were met by the government as claimed.”
“It is on record for instance that the cause of this prolong strike was the failure of the government to honour the agreement it reportedly reached with the union as far back as 2009.
“It would be recalled that a strike on the same issue came up in 2020. The union suspended its strike in December of that year when the government gave the impression that it was going to honour the Memorandum of Action it reached with the union. Failure to do so was what led to the 2022 strike.
“Presently, the Federal Government, through the spokesman of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Bem Goong, said that it has fulfilled about 80% of ASUU demands. The question to ask here is: what are the specifics of the demands that were met by the government as claimed?” Ajayi queried.
Afenifere spokesman, while faulting ASUU for its failure to properly articulate its own position in a manner that the public would fully understand, said the Federal Government should be seen as the agent provocateur given the fact that there was hardly any major agreement it reached with Nigerians and major public-oriented organizations in the country that it fulfilled satisfactorily.
“It was always quick to react when and where the interests of the political class are at stake such as when the airline operators threatened to go on strike and when the electricity workers did same.
“But when it comes to matters affecting the average person in the country, the government always behaves as if it did not derive its mandate from the people,” he stated.
Ajayi, however, implored the Federal Government to use the looted fund from the suspended Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, as well as the “ones dubbed as ‘Abacha loots’ to take care of the infrastructural and logistics deficits in our universities as being demanded by the academic union.”
Afenifere chieftain, while making the demand, said that pressures would undoubtedly be mounted on ASUU to suspend the strike, but posited that it would amount to postponing the evil days as the problems ASUU was calling attention to would not disappear simply because the union bowed to pressure and return to the classes.
This was just as he recalled that the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, had, years ago, called for a total overhaul of Nigerian university system, but quickly noted that it was hardly surprising that the country was in this logjam as the call had since “remained on deaf ears.”
“Pressures would undoubtedly be mounted on ASUU to suspend the strike. But it would amount to postponing the evil days because the problems ASUU is calling attention to would not disappear simply because the union bows to pressure and return to the classes.
“Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka had, years ago, called for a total overhaul of our university system. Since the call had remained on deaf ears, it is hardly surprising that we are in this logjam,” Ajayi concluded.
and then