THE PERPETUAL ASUU-FG HOLOCAUST, THE STUDENT AMBIVALENT PERSPECTIVE AND THE WAY OUT BY MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM USMAN

The perennially monotonous industrial action often embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU  has made the Union very notorious for it's consistency with the inelegant and old fashioned method of seeking redress from the government for over two decades. Students in the Nigerian public universities celebrate the calling off of strikes like the way Christmas and Sallah festive seasons are celebrated with wide jubilation and always, when ASUU is mentioned,  something nauseating crosses one's mind because the government and other professionals, including households have impliedly blackmailed the University lecturers for allowing them to fight the collective fight alone. 

Immediately after the official release in solidarity of the four weeks nationwide  strike from my school, I went to pay a visit to someone in the city and an unschooled Almajiri friend started gisting me unsolicitedly about his disappointment about the usual and unnecessarily incessant strike by the Members of the ASUU. "If I were to be the president, I would just scrap and sack all of them and employ new lecturers", he said in his words. A strange feeling of surprise paid me a courtesy visit upon hearing his opinion about the strike and I didn't blame him for thinking that way but ourselves and the likes for always blaming our teachers for fighting the course of justice for us, I must admit that.

This issue of ASUU-FG crisis has been in place for donkey years so many of us in the public Universities were not born. The ASUU has been  strennius and ardent in fighting the government for the betterment and improvement of the academic facilities of all the universities and for the preservance of the glory of the past of the academia in Nigeria, the protection of the sanctity of the academic institutions has always  been the course ASUU has been championing over the years. If not for ASUU, our public universities would have been like the poorly maintained if not completely ignored government schools that cannot teach children even how to read nor write.

Anytime a public university student hears of ASUU strike, a suspicious feeling of ambivalent state of mind pays a courtesy visit to his mind. The feeling of sincerity or otherwise of the ASUU on the belief that they fight for the students,  many reasons becloud the thought of every average University student who always has been a scapegoat and a victim of circumstance. The prayer of every parent is to see their ward succeeding through school and becoming someone in life, but the strike has always been a hindrance to that. Looking at the Nigerian's National Youth Service Corps policy that anybody above the age of thirty cannot serve, an average student suspects a conspiracy between the government and the ASUU towards delaying the students in school through consistent strikes that would prevent them from graduating below the age of 30, those that serve the nation have higher chances of getting employed as many opportunities come with the requirement of the NYSC discharge letter. It is an indisputable reality that many Nigerian students get admission when they are about the age of 20 and above, mostly 23-25, to study a four year course plus the strike or even five year courses with the strike in mind. A larger percentage of them rarely graduate below thirty, leaving them with no option than to fake their age through court affidavits. This implied conspiracy authenticated in the minds of Nigerian student community the popular but inelegant common saying among them that "school na scam" which I vehemently jibe from.

The struggles of ASUU has been in place since time immemorial beyond the popular 2009 agreements. It's very fundamental to go memory lane to understand same.The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was formed in 1978, a successor to the Nigerian Association of University Teachers formed in 1965 and covering academic staff in all of the Federal and State Universities in the country.

The Union was active in struggles against the military regime during the 1980s. In 1988 the union organized a National Strike to obtain fair wages and university autonomy. As a result, the ASUU was proscribed on 7 August 1988 and all its property seized. It was allowed to resume in 1990, but after another strike was again banned on 23 August 1992. However, an agreement was reached on 3rd September 1992 that met several of the union's demands including the right of workers to collective bargaining. The ASUU organized further strikes in 1994 and 1996, protesting against the dismissal of staff by the Sani Abacha military regime.

Very few among the struggles of the ASUU has been seen and alot of improvements and achievements were recorded over the years. Most importantly is the establishment of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund which is the aftermath of the recommendations of the Gray Lorge Commission. The commission was set up to investigate from 1980 and beyond. The decay of all tiers of education and the collapse of the lecturers morale, the commission recommended among others the funding of the higher education through earmarked tax to be borne by companies operating in Nigeria. An implementation committee under the chairmanship of professor Olu. O Akinkugbe was set towards the implementation of the recommendations of the commission and also, an agreement was signed between ASUU and the Federal government on the 3rd September, 1992 on funding of Universities. 

In January 1993, The Education Tax Act No 7 of 1993 was promulgated alongside other education related Decrees. The Decree imposed a 2% tax on the assessable profits of all companies in Nigeria. This was a home grown solution to address issues of funding to rehabilitate the decaying infrastructure,  restore the lost glory of education and confidence in the system. The Education Tax Act No 7 of 1993 mandated the Fund to operate as an intervention fund to all levels of public education. The Education Tax Act was repealed and replaced by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund Act 2011 which is the generous body that is responsible for almost all the facilities the Students are using, awarding of scholarship grants to indegent students and lecturers alike to further their education for the betterment of the country.

It will be ungrateful of us as students not to commend the efforts of our lecturers in public universities who earn the meager unattractive and worth not amount as salary. If you look at the salary of a starter as a fresh graduate and some of these public lecturers, one would find nothing attractive in the lecturing job if not for the sake of development of the Academia and the prosperity of the nation at large. This is one of the reasons why we continuously record a declining interest among the youths in the teaching profession. The lackadaisical attitude of the government and its indifference about the welfare of the lecturers to mention but a few. This is without recourse to the contribution of the lecturers towards nation building and capacity building. 

Notwithstanding all the failure of the government, the ASUU is also not infallible and they are somewhat blameworthy in many respect. The one-lane alternative as always used which failed to be a panacea has always been to the detriment of the students because the students are at the receiving end. Parents likewise students always see ASUU as a common enemy to their progress and you failed to restrategise, reorient and conscientise the polluted minds of the society as to the reasons for your actions. ASUU has been characterised by students as an enemy of progress. This beini the reason why the students failed to join them in achieving this common goal for the betterment of the society at large. I urge the leadership of ASUU to make the fight an all inclusive one by engaging and liaising with the leadership of the Student Unions from accross all the universities in Nigeria. Let us all join hands in solidarity to our teachers in a peaceful protest all over the country. This is the best language the government would understand, lead us to the National Assembly and to the Presidency. Let us all together with you as leaders of the protest, storm the Aso Rock Villa and all other important places,  I trust you all that within a week, all your demands will be made. 

The society also is not helping matter, the ill-informed media reportage about this ravaging issue is also a thing of concern. Martin Luther King have this to say, that:

            [T]o solve a problem,  you have to recognize your share of responsibility. If you only blame others,  you will never solve it.

The strike has been a necessary evil we cannot avert as it seems to be the language the government understands, but I believe if all our business men, compatriots and other stakeholders would all come together,  we can arrest this ugly situation within shortest possible time if not within a blink of an eye. This is on the premise that "to ignore evil is to become accomplice to it". The conspiracy of silence of the society at large is worst that the attitude of the government as we (the people) made the government and all powers belong to us if we truly believe. One of the reasons why the society fails as an entity to recognize its strength for being capable of bringing the government and forcing it to it knees for the purpose of accountability and answering its clarion call is the poor education it gives to the society through poor funding and gross neglect.

With our collective effort, this problem can be nibbed in the bud as the solution lies in our hands. It is left for us to either make or mar the future,  but we should not leave behind us something that is likely going to witch-hunt the unborn generation for our failure to act and contribute our quota where we have the ability to do so. Why I blame the ASUU sometimes is the level of compromise it display, let the strike be "total, comprehensive and complete till the needs are met. Let no more fake promises be honoured". Seeing is believing,  I don't care if the strike would last for years in as much as a permanent solution can be achieved, so be it. What I distaste is to see ASUU embarking on another strike sooner or later. My stand is that ASUU should not call off until all demands are put in place. It is better we sacrifice for the betterment of our tomorrow.  Had it been something like this is done in the past, we would not have been victims of the circumstance.

Long live ASUU! Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria.ALUTA CONTINUA, VICTORIA ASCERTA.

Written By: 

         Muhammad Ibrahim Usman. A 300 level student, Faculty of Law, Bayero University Kano. He can be reached via: Imuhammadusman66@gmail.com and/or

08145101965.