THE Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), University of Ibadan chapter on Monday joined other chapters of the union across the country to commence a three-day warning strike intimating the Federal Government of its inability to fulfil its 10-year agreement it had with the union over several issues relating with
the staff welfare.
Addressing members of the union during an emergency congress and peaceful protests around the premises of the University to sensitise both the university management and the Federal Government of its plight, the Chairman of SSANU, Comrade Wale Akinremi said it is unfortunate that the Federal Government as the custodian of the rule of
law has failed to uphold the institution.
Members of the union who were chanting solidarity songs during the protest carried placards with inscriptions such as “respect rule of law”, “respect court verdict” “reinstate university staff school teachers of university on payroll now”, “FG stop provoking strikes”, “respect mutual agreement, pay your workers”, “our earned allowances, our legitimate right”, “all responsible nations fund education appropriately, why is Nigeria an exception?”
The peaceful protests which commenced from in front of the Senate chamber took the protesters to some locations within the campus and terminated at the main gate of the institution.
According to Akinremi, “If we are to react to the way the federal government is handling issues of education, we will have to close down the university system, nothing will work. But because we want to protect our public institutions, especially our university system and education, we decided not to toe the path of government, but there is a natural limit to endurance.
“We are using this opportunity to call on well-meaning Nigerians and stakeholders in the educational sector to let the government understand that this is not the best way to do things.”
Akinremi listed issues like the staff school, earned allowances among others as issues between the union and the Federal Government as things that must be resolved to avert an eventual strike by the union.
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He added that “The Federal government is owing to us over N66billion till next year. We agreed that the government will pay N22billion for a start in a mutual arrangement which our members were not even pleased with, but the Federal Government could only raise N8bn and that in few weeks it will add the sum to make up for the agreement, but the government has not fulfilled that agreement.
“The federal government gave us a letter to that effect but till today, nothing has been paid, despite the fact that the value of the money has dropped.
“How long are going to continue to embark on strike every now and then? How long are we going to close public institutions because their children are not patronising public institutions and if their children are not patronising public institutions or Nigerian universities, so they don’t have any emotional attachment with any of these institutions, but we have decided not to relent in preserving this while we are urging stakeholders to protect these institutions.
“Before now, Nigerian universities were competing with best in the Commonwealth. University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, was the place to be, but today where are these institutions ranked? We don’t know where University of Ibadan and OAU is ranked now. The second best university in Nigeria is a private university established some years ago. It is a dangerous trend in Nigeria given the capacity of an average Nigerian to feed not to talk of funding private education of a child.
“We are pleading with the Federal Government, we don’t want to go on strike, we don’t want to close the universities. This protest is going to be on for three days. Today is just to send a message across to the stakeholders, by tomorrow we will intensify effort to ginger the public and inform the public on the whole issue.”
and then