Gboyega Alaka writes on the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
ON March 17, students of Nigeria’s premier tertiary institution, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos took to the streets in a peaceful protest march, causing hours of traffic gridlock across Lagos metropolis and literally forcing everyone to pay attention to their plights. They staged the protest in solidarity with their lecturers, the members of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), over their prolonged strike (which had gone on for six unbroken months), without a solution in sight. To underline their desperate situation, the students blocked major roads and carried placards with messages such as “We are tired of sleeping at home,’ ‘Enough of polytechnics’ neglect’, ‘We can’t even remember our matriculation number anymore….’
They were joined by their colleagues from the University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Federal Polytechnic, Ede, Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education among others.
Ganiyu Olanrewaju Salvador, president, Yaba College of Technology Students’ Union, said the demonstration had become necessary because the federal government has not been fair in its handling of the lecturers’ strike, arguing that its disposition was much different during the Academic Staff of Universities (ASUU) strike last year. He especially pointed an accusing finger at the supervising minister of education, Nyesom Wike, whom he said has been playing politics with the polytechnic students’ plight.
In what looked like a crack in the wall of the students’ body, Salvador took a swipe at the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), which he accused of deliberately remaining silent in the face of the ASUP strike that has kept his fellow polytechnic students out of classes for more than half a year. This, he said was contrary to the body’s position during the university lecturers strike and therefore clamoured that it be changed to National Association of University Students, while the polytechnic students across the country form their own body to represent them adequately!
The polytechnic lecturers have been embroiled in a perpetual struggle with the federal government over some demands which they say are genuine and pertinent for the progress of the polytechnic education sector. According to Adeyemi Aromolaran, chairman ASUP, the strike has been on for seven unbroken months; but it could easily have been nine, had the union in its wisdom not yielded to the appeal of the government to give it two weeks grace to look into the demands.
“The strike initially commenced in April 2013, but the government specifically requested two weeks to enable it look into four of our 13-point demands. The four issues the government promised to look into are the constitution of a governing council for the various federal polytechnics, payment of the CONTISS 15 salary arrears (which is salary arrears owed some category of junior colleagues who had initially been left out of the new salary structure), the polytechnics NEEDS Assessment and the release of the government white paper on the visitation panel that came visiting the polytechnics in 2009. Out of magnanimity, the union gave the government six weeks, but at the end of the day, the only thing the government did was the constituting of the governing council.”
This according to Aromolaran was a let-down and a call to ASUP for a show-down. Despite this, he disclosed that the union delayed for another two weeks after the initial six weeks, hoping that the government will revisit the issues and help them avoid going back on strike. “The present strike has therefore been on since October 4,” the ASUP YabaTech chairman said.
Other major focal points of the industrial action, are the establishment of a polytechnic commission to be devoted to polytechnic affairs (just like the National Universities Commission (NUC), the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) and other such bodies), a review of the act that established the polytechnics, to enable them upgrade and run degree courses (B.Tech) and senior degree courses (M.Tech and D.T) and the ‘removal of discrimination against HND graduates in comparison with their university counterparts by government policy.’
Conspiracy of silence and subjugation
These demands he says, are basic and all focused on the development of the polytechnic system and should ordinarily not be allowed to drag. Aromolaran therefore concluded that the continued government silence and apathy further confirms the conspiracy script already playing out against the polytechnic system and the students. According to him, “it is the elites that take decisions about the country and since the children of the elites no longer attend polytechnics, it is no surprise that the government is keeping quiet.”
He condemned the bias for the university products over polytechnic graduates, saying this is as a result of the human nature of complex defences, which unfortunately is overriding national interest. “The average university students in Nigeria want to see themselves as superior to the polytechnic graduates, colleges of education graduates and even the workers therein; and these are part of the things we are fighting against.”
He said it has now become a common practice to have polytechnic graduates separated from university products during job interviews and thereafter told to “go home, we will get back to you”, which usually is the end of the story. He thus lamented the dichotomy and blames it on the government policies, which tends to suggest that the polytechnic graduate is inferior, despite their superior and more grounded and practical training. He said the union chose this as one of its demands to rescue the future of the students.
On a personal note, Aromolaran also considers it a personal insult: “if you tell me that my products are inferior, then you are also telling me by implication that I’m also inferior.” As an academic of repute, he is not ready to take this lying low.
On his part, Awofodu Jeremiah, who is secretary-general of the Yabatech ASUP, thinks there is a calculated disdain and neglect on the part of the government for polytechnic education, despite the obvious role it is supposed to play as the manpower development sector in the country. He also accused the government of perpetuating the dichotomy between the university and polytechnic products, which has now led to a situation whereby the polytechnic is seen as a last resort and hardly on the radar of the government planning officials.
A complicit media and public
Awofodu and his chairman, Aromolaran are also quick to accuse the public of being too passive to the plight of the polytechnic sector, citing the media as a major accomplice here. They recall how volatile and active the media was during the university lecturers’ strike last year and wonder why the same level of coverage is not being given to the polytechnics lecturers’ issues. The implication of the media silence, they say, has therefore been “a low sensitisation of the public about the on-going strike, to the extent that nobody outside the concerned lecturers, and students ever speaks about it. This is even more dangerous now that the polytechnics have been seemingly reduced to a level where only children of peasants and petty traders, who practically have no voice, attend.”
Aromolaran said it is for this reason that the union took a decision to go on the streets on March 17, to compel the attention of the public, before it was joined in solidarity by the students. That effort yielded some temporary results as most of the national newspapers reported it, with some even devoting their front pages to it. He, however, lamented that everything seems to have gone quiet again. “Even the television stations which are noted for airing vox pops on such issues have simply looked the other way.”
Government’s arm-twisting and blackmail
Speaking to our correspondent in Abuja last week, the national president of ASUP, Mr Chibuzor Asomugha berated the supervising minister for education, Nyesom Wike for trying to reduce the whole strike to a battle over payment of salary arrears. In his words, “We are not asking for money. What we are asking for is the revamping of the system, deepening of capacity of our students, making the polytechnics a preferable option for higher education amongst others.” Asomugha, however expressed the union’s resolve not to be cowed, arguing that there is nothing to be ashamed of in demanding for one’s entitlement. He also said every attempt to get the minister to set up a technical committee headed by the permanent secretary of education to discuss the issues and way forward have been rebuffed. He accused the minister of reducing the strike to an ego battle with the lecturers and said the ‘no work, no pay’ order brought to bear since March 21, 2014 will only further jeopardize whatever success the two parties may have achieved so far.
His position was corroborated by Aromolaran and his secretary, Awofodu. In the words of Awofodu, “It is not the joy of anybody to collect money without working, it is just that the situation on ground warrants that we stand up to the government and demand these changes.” He revealed that most of the lecturers have been resuming at their duties posts and attending to the students’ projects and the Students Industrial Work Experience (SIWES), which is organized by the government.
The lecturers also condemned a situation where the sector, despite its unique role in the life of a modern nation, is left without a substantive minister. They argued that even the supervising minister is more pre-occupied with his next political agenda, which is to become the next governor of Rivers State.
Aromolaran also took a swipe at the polytechnic alumnus scattered all over the country, who are already doing well in their various endeavours, wondering why even they are not speaking up against the ‘plundering of a system that made them’.
On state polytechnics, which are unable to participate in the strike due to their peculiar situations, Aromolaran said they would surely benefit if and when the government decide to yield to their demands. “The presidential committee that conducted the NEEDS Assessment visited state polytechnics during the evaluation process and they will surely benefit, because that is simply a case of funding, which the federal governments will pay to the institutions directly.”
