SIR: Enmeshed in a prolonged ASUU strike, Nigeria drifts further towards multifaceted crises which are getting out of control. University students, parents, lecturers, the government, and the country at large, are all casualties of this menacing conflict. While other global universities are producing more manpower for development, we are hopelessly stagnant.
Historically, ASUU is well-known for its defiant attribute of no retreat no surrender in the history of its recurrent battles with the government. But from the ideological conception, it is a combat against unpopular policies which the government cannot see in their real context. As such, it is very simple to count the number of times ASUU has been on strikes and the government views it as a political opposition party.
But why are we not concerned with enumerating the number of failures by the government to yield to the realistic demands of university education? While the basic factors responsible for ASUU’s continuous face-off with the authorities have been the same, except for some modifications to align with the prevailing circumstances, it is not yet obvious if this festering strike will be the final.
Evidently, the current strike by the ASUU has taken a more dangerous dimension owing to unsolicited exhibition of some ill -motivated actions by the government, such as the pronouncement of no work no pay and the uncharitable act of creating a parallel union of lecturers among others. However, our government has committed a moral felony because we have cases where members of the National Assembly are involved in dereliction of legislative duties but are handsomely paid every month. As for the CONUA, its emergence is a comedy display which will end very soon till eternity. This ill- conceived faction is a false attraction only to the government and is no equal match to the mainstream ASUU in all ramifications. For all times, ASUU will continue to be a bulwark for the sustenance of the university system as well as the conscience of progressive forces.
Whatever the erudite scholars’ ‘insensitive’ demands are, their perennial clashes with the powers that be are informed by the idea they possess and the ideology that possesses them. If they are selfish for agitating for better salary packages considering the gigantic work and researches they conduct to build humanity, fine and good. But then how do we rate our National Assembly members for reaping outrageous salaries and allowances for rendering meagre services? How do we classify some governors, ministers and other top government shots who squander billions of naira to fly private jets?
Available data shows that universities do not have up-to-date teaching materials for all courses in spite of the rapid rate of technological advancement. And they castigate ASUU as being too selfish! Who is fooling who? Unfortunately, misplacement of priorities is now entrenched as a fundamental pillar of governance in Nigeria. This chronic disease is a replica of ‘politics without principles’ postulated by the late Mahatma Ghandi as one of the social sins ravaging the world.
It is an uncontested fact that the university system in Nigeria is gradually going the same maladies as the primary and secondary schools systems. Universities are neglected, starved of adequate funding to provide working, learning materials and good structures. Despite the pivotal role of university education to our survival, it is still disheartening that the government ignores the mandate given to governments all over the world by the United Nations on the required percentage for the education sector. Nigeria will never be proud of producing half-baked doctors, engineers and other professionals
ASUU may be misconstrued, antagonised, scandalized and suffer various forms of unlimited vituperations and coercion, but the fact remains that hypocrisy is not the solution but the escalation of the debacle.
-
Abdu Abdullahi, aaringim68@gmail.com