The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a warning to the Federal and State Governments, urging them to address long-standing issues to avert an impending industrial crisis in Nigeria’s public universities.
In a press release signed by its president, Christopher Piwuna, the union expressed growing frustration among its members, citing poor welfare, inadequate funding, and the government’s failure to honour signed agreements.
The warning comes in response to a recent declaration by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who stated, “not again ever in this country will ASUU or tertiary institutions…go on strike.” While the minister hinged this optimism on a strategy of dialogue and meeting union demands, ASUU insists that action must follow words.
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“While ASUU share his optimism about dialogue and maintaining relationships, the government needs to go beyond words and act on our outstanding issues,” the union stated.
Highlighting the dire conditions faced by lecturers, the union stressed that many teach “on empty stomachs” and conduct research without access to essential resources such as electronic journals, books, chemicals, and reagents. Lecturers also contend with inadequate transportation, unpaid utility bills, children’s school fees, and other financial burdens.
Piwuna expressed frustration over the pervasive blame on universities for producing unemployable graduates despite these challenges, saying lecturers “feel forgotten, shamed and demoralised by past and present governments.”
ASUU criticised the Nigerian government’s failure to honour collective bargaining agreements, specifically the unresolved renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement.
”Agents of government at the State and Federal levels have characteristically thrown the underlying principles of the Agreement overboard and resorted to platitudes and tokenism. They pick and choose what aspect(s) of the package to “renegotiate” and implement,” the ASUU president said.
He also condemned government attempts to treat academics seeking better work environments as “volunteers” under initiatives like the “Diaspora Bridge,” calling such approaches hypocritical.
On governance issues, ASUU expressed concern about political interference in vice-chancellor appointments, highlighting the controversy surrounding the Acting Vice Chancellor of Alvan Ikoku University of Education, whose promotions were “fraught with a lot of contradictions.”
The union appealed to Nigerian leaders and stakeholders to prevent another strike by addressing the “lingering labour issues in the Nigerian University System.
”For the umpteenth time, ASUU invites all genuine patriots to prevail on Nigeria’s Federal and State Governments to address all lingering labour issues in the Nigerian University System to avert another looming industrial crisis.”
”Nigerian academics are tired of governments’ excuses, which have only left them with a long list of Memoranda of Understanding/Memoranda of Action (MoUs/MoAs) -2013, 2017, 2019, 2020-and kept them talking over the renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement for upward of eight years! No memorandum or “discussion” can take the place of a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which fully addresses staff welfare issues and the requisite environment for productive academic work. The time to act is now!
