Following last week’s suspension of the industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), students have urged the Federal Government to settle the union to forestall a recurrence, FATIMAH IDERA(AAUA) reports.
Following the Appeal Court’s order mandating the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to comply with the ruling of the National Industrial Court to resume for their appeal to be heard, the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU held an emergency meeting to suspend its eight-month-old strike, while it claimed that issues of the dispute were ‘yet to be satisfactorily addressed’.
The union went on strike on February 14, over the government’s alleged failure to meet its demands.
With the suspension of the strike, students do not want a repeat. They want the Federal Government to meet the demands of the union and provide an enabling environment for them to work. Equally, they urged ASUU to restrategise and look for other means of pressing home their demands instead of making students suffer through incessant industrial actions.
Abdulrasheed Hammad, a 400-Level Law Student at Usman Danfodio University Sokoto(UDUS), expects Federal Government to fulfill the demands of ASUU to avoid a repeat in future.
“My expectation is for the Federal Government to fulfill the demands of ASUU because we don’t want such to repeat itself. It was obvious that Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila played a vital role in fast tracking negotiations,” he said.
He noted that the government should not have allowed the strike to last long. He urged ASUU to also engage people about their demands so that government would be forced to fulfill their demands, while students hope not to go out of class again.
Deborah Tedunjaye, a Sociology student at Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko(AAUA), Ondo State, said: “Federal Government should work on meeting up with their agreement, so there would not be recurrence anymore.
“I expect to finish this semester this year and go to another level and ASUU should have done this earlier. It is late, but better as there are some things we will be able to cover.”
Alimi Fatima, a 300-Level Biology student at Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, said: “Federal Government should settle the union and pay lecturers’ salaries when due to avoid issues of strike.Also ASUU should restrategise and look for other means in terms of fighting for their rights, not by going on strike; making innocent students suffer for it.
“I am very certain it would be survival of the fittest, in terms of rushing students and using two months to complete a semester.”
Adesina Dasola Kafayat, a 200-Level student of Plant Science and Biotechnology at Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), urged government to do all within its powers to meet the demands of ASUU to bring stability to universities.
“Federal Government and ASUU should agree to avoid a repeat of this long strike.
“I felt the court order was biased and targeted against the victims themselves instead of the perpetrators,” she said.
Adepoju Samuel, a 200-Level English Language and Literature student at the University of Ibadan, urged the government to fulfill their end of the agreement, while lauding Gbajabiamila. He hoped resumption would be followed by no further break. He advised the union to use other methods to negotiate with government rather than strike.
He said: “Government should keep to the signed agreement, increase lecturers’ emoluments and fully fund universities to attract better reputation continentally and globally. ASUU should explore other alternatives to hold government responsible without disrupting academic activities.
“The court order expedited the decision for ASUU to call off the strike and declare resumption of academic activities. I hope the union is not merely complying with the order to embark on another industrial action next year.”
Olugade Ayorinde, a 100-Level Banking and Finance student at AAUA, said: “Federal Government has to see to ASUU’s demands and not allow them to cause any rift; it should not also delay payment to avoid another indefinite strike. ASUU should be considerate to students and lecturers.
‘’ I want to resume and continue with my studies to the next level as many plans have been shattered already.”
Godswill Ntiero, a 200-Level Electrical Engineering student at the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), said: “When school resumes, I will focus on my studies that need a lot of attention. It is going to be a rush on us and we end up suffering for the time wasted; government should endeavour to keep its side of the promise and agreement.”
Chukwuyem Franklin, a 300-Level Computer Science student at University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), wants ASUU and Federal Government to iron out their differences in the interest of students and avoid what may bring a repeat of the strike.
“I guess the courts have done the students and parents a favour instead of ASUU wasting students’ time.
“ASUU and government should settle all differences and avoid what can cause a repeat of the long strike,” he said.
Mazeed Mukhtar Oyeleye, a 300-Level student of Economics at UDUS said: “Government should mark up enough funds for the settlement of the union’s entitlements in the next budget and if the government failed to honour the agreements, the union should remember their promise that our stay at home will be the last of its kind.
“I do not want to believe that the ruling directly impacted the union’s decision to suspend the strike and resume academic activities as sacrifices in the last eight months finally turned out epochal, marking the end of ASUU strikes in the country’s history as our lecturers assured.”
Tijani Abdulkabeer, a 200-Level student of History at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, urged government to have conversations with necessary parties for the funding of public universities or create an endowment fund that institutions can tap in to fund themselves or get donations.
He also said autonomy should be granted to universities if government can not keep on funding them.
“My expectation is more of doing journalism because I am not a classroom person even when the school is in session but I know a lot will change about students with the resumption.
“They will be made to go through struggles with the sudden resumption as the landlord/students issue awaits. Also lecturers will start enforcing laws on students too, while some students would have to quit their jobs, and some their internships just to resume school,” he said.
Peace Oladipo, a 300-Level Mass Communication student at (FUOYE), urged lecturers to improve their delivery and consider students and not go on strike for a long time.
“A major strategy to be deployed to work issues out are legal procedures, not dialogue sometimes, the court changed the storyline of the ASUU negotiation,” she said.
Olayiwola Folahan Festus, the Student Union President of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, urged both parties to honour, willingly, all signed agreements. He also advised ASUU to consider using other means to press home its demands, adding students were paying too heavily for strikes.
“Based on the wisdom of the court and in the spirit of being law-abiding, I think that ASUU has done well by calling off the strike and it allows the matter to be treated within the ambit of the law without malice,” he said.
Lecturers react
Mr. Benson Otedayo, a Computer Engineering lecturer at Ekiti State University, said: “There should be a consideration from both parties, since there was an intervention from the Federal House of Representatives.
“We expect that things would go back to normal, we are also looking at other components of developing universities and welfare with the government.
“Government should set up a rule for engagement so that unions would not come at once for payment.”
A Mass Communication lecturer at AAUA, Mr. Ishola Lamidi, wants the Federal Government to keep to its commitment not only to the union but also to the universities by doing the needful so that there would not be any cause for another strike.
“ASUU is a democratic union and also a law-abiding union who obeyed the court order. The union has never and would never pursue its selfish interest.
“Meanwhile, the struggle is for the betterment of public universities in the country and it is about making the university system something to be proud of in terms of proper funding and staff welfare,” he said.
Lamidi urged ASUU to play its part in terms of suggesting creative ways of generating additional income for the system as the funding should not be that of the government alone. He also called on major stakeholders to play their role so it can be well-funded.