Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike has been ongoing for almost four months and concerned Nigerians are beginning to look for ways out of the lingering industrial action.
Recall that ASUU earlier declared a one-month warning strike on February 14, 2022, to demand that the Federal Government fulfil the 2009 agreement.
The agreement signed by the federal government with the union requires that the government commit N200billion annually for five years to the revitalisation of the tertiary education sector.
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To meet this segment of the ASUU demand, the Federal Government must cough out N1 trillion.
The union also accused the government of refusing to include earned academic allowances in the 2022 budget as promised.
Presently, ASUU is demanding N18 billion, out of what is owed, to solve its pressing issues.
While strike actions are meant to spur the government to action, the strategy has over the years been counterproductive and an existential danger to the very system it was meant to save.
Here is why: ASUU has embarked on strike for at least 16 times between 1999 and now, that’s a 23-year period.
Sadly, nothing has really changed and the country’s education system have gone from bad to worse across all levels – primary to tertiary.
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Asides unnecessarily prolonged years in school — 4-year course becoming 6 or 8 years — students are forced to ‘get busy’. Unfortunately, getting busy in recent times means young persons being tempted and lured into various vices. You know what they say about an idle hand being the devil’s workshop.
ASUU’s Lack Of Innovation
It’s really sad to see how ASUU have over the years not been able to come up with creative solutions to the ever-rising problems in the educational system.
The lack of innovation is rather shocking as the body comprises of intellectuals who have bagged various degrees in different fields.
It’s ordinarily expected that if one way doesn’t work in solving a problem another way should be adopted right? Adopting new strategies is crucial to the survival of Nigeria’s university systems else the country will continue to witness unproductive strike actions.
Nigerians’ Reactions
Since the beginning of the ongoing strike, many Nigerians have taken to social media to either rant, beg or even slam the Federal Government and ASUU.
Even in an attempt to end the strike, renowned shoe anchor and owner of the popular Human Rights Radio in Abuja, Ahmed Isah, has volunteered to raise funds for ASUU to end strike and for students to return to class.
While, the Federal Government released N34 billion naira for the payment of minimum wage consequential adjustments from 2019 back in May, ASUU declared that until its main demands are met, it will not suspend the strike.
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During a live broadcast on Thursday, Mr Isah, who anchors the Brekete Family programme on the radio station, announced that he is willing to volunteer to mediate between ASUU and the government.
The broadcaster popularly known as the ‘Ordinary President’, announced his bid to help the government raise N18billion within a period of two weeks.
To kickstart the project, he pledged to donate N10 million naira to the cause and called on Nigerians to donate into a designated bank account posted on the Brekete Family social media pages and his personal twitter handle.
Isah stated:
Let us challenge ourselves as Nigerians. This is an opportunity for us to test ourselves to know how united we are. Come 2023, this ASUU intervention will give me a sign that, as masses, we are ready to turn things around.
Your one naira, N1,000 naira, N5000, N10,000 is not too small. No matter how poor you think you are, make sure you contribute something, even if it is one naira.
Also in an effort to support this cause, the deputy registrar at Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC), Segun Ogunyawo donated N1million naira.
However, it is still uncertain if the crowdfunding strategy will be enough reason for ASUU to call off the strike, as the union has earlier stated that the strike will only be suspended when two of its demands are met.
