Still On Government, Lecturers’ Standoffs

One thing that is gradually becoming the defining feature of the public university system in Nigeria is the resort to strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as a way of making its grievances known to the authorities. From 1999 to the present, the union has embarked on strikes approximately 20 times, lasting cumulatively for up to 53 months.

Some of the strikes by the lecturers included five months in 1999, 2001 (three months), 2002 (two weeks),2003 (six months), 2005 (two weeks), 2006 (three days), 2007 (three months), 2008 (one week), 2009 (four months), 2010 (five months). Others are 2011 (59 days), 2013 (five months), 2016 (one week), 2017 (one month), 2018 (three months), 2020 (nine months), 2022 (eight months)

The reason for these strikes is essentially the same: ASUU’s position is that the government neglects the nation’s public university system, forcing the lecturers to work under a deplorable environment.
The academic calendars of Nigerian public universities are often disrupted by recurring strikes, which have negatively impacted teaching and research, contributing to the universities’ abysmally low ranking. For instance, in the recent global universities’ ranking by Times Higher Education (THE), none of the over 100 universities in the country made it to the top 500 list.

Prominent universities in the country, such as Ahmadu Bello University, the University of Lagos, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and the University of Ibadan, for instance, were ranked outside the 1-1000 category.

To expect any Nigerian university, especially public ones, which consistently have had to contend with prolonged ASUU strikes, to appear in the top list of the THE ranking is to live in self-denial. ASUU, more than anyone, knows this too well.

The frequent strikes by university lecturers, which continue to have a significant impact on not only the system but also the students, have continued to present ASUU in a negative light.

It is true that in 2009, ASUU and the Nigerian government signed an agreement covering conditions of service, funding, university autonomy, and academic freedom. Specifically, the agreement was to reverse the decay in the university system and reposition it for greater responsibility in national development. It also seeks to reverse the brain drain by enhancing the remuneration of academic staff and disengaging them from the encumbrances of a unified civil service wage structure.

Another intention of the agreement was to restore Nigerian universities through immediate, massive, and sustained financial intervention, and to ensure genuine autonomy and academic freedom.
While we believe that efforts must be made to ensure the dutiful implementation of the agreement within the limits of the nation’s available resources, in view of the competing national demands, recurring strikes by ASUU are certainly not the solution.

Under the immediate past administration of Muhammadu Buhari, undergraduates in universities across the country lost not less than 13 months from their educational calendar, owing to the recurring strikes by ASUU.

These strikes have negatively impacted teaching and research in the nation’s ivory towers, further eroding the confidence parents and students have in the nation’s universities and the certificates they issue.
Alarmingly, the recurring strikes have engendered a mad rush for foreign universities, with some Nigerians settling for very low-quality universities in neighbouring countries simply because of the guarantee of an uninterrupted academic session.

Suppose all the strikes by ASUU, especially from 1999 to 2022, are worrisome. In that case, the latest warning strike by the lecturers is more so because it came barely hours after the Federal Government renewed its commitment to resolving all pending issues with the Union.

More than anything, the fact that there has been no strike in the last two years of the present administration demonstrates the government’s commitment to addressing the nagging issues that have been at the heart of the recurring strikes.

We are, therefore, alarmed that ASUU is insisting on a strike when the present administration has consistently engaged the Union and conceded to some of its demands. This insistence portrays ASUU as being fascinated with strikes, or else it would have followed through with the current dialogue process instead of being confrontational.

Fundamentally, the recurring strikes by ASUU are an ill wind that does no good to anyone, because they hurt students, parents, and the nation’s already strained education system.

Therefore, we urge ASUU to embrace the offer for engagement made by the federal government, which is geared towards addressing its key demands, including salary adjustments, university funding, and pending allowances. Critical stakeholders must allow reason to prevail by taking the necessary steps to avert another prolonged strike, which would have yet another catastrophic impact on the nation’s university system.

In making this appeal, we are also urging the government to demonstrate good faith in handling the issues at stake. They are not just about lecturers’ benefits; a lot has to do with the system as a whole. The infrastructure in the ivory tower that used to be exemplary has decayed over time. Even worse, the quality of teaching has declined, raising doubts about the system’s products. That ought to be a source of concern not only to the union but also to the government and other stakeholders. Compromise resulting from discussions around a table is the only viable way out. The present hardline postures can only impair development.