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Tag: ASUU

  • Breaking: ASUU suspends strikes, reaches agreement with FG

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Thursday suspended its three-month strike following an agreement it reached with the Federal Government.

    As a result of the agreement which was signed between the union leaders and government officials, the leadership of ASUU announced the suspension of the strike action.

    Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige told newsmen at the end of the two hours meeting that all eight areas in contention have been resolved by both parties while implementation of some the agreement has already commenced.

    The Minister listed areas in contention which has been resolved to include the Nigeria University Pension Company, constitution of visitation panels, shortfall in Salaries, Earned Academic Allowance and revitalization funds for universities, adding that while the union has already collected the certificate for NUPENCO, government has made money available for the payment of the shortfall in salaries as well as Earned Academic Allowances.

    He also said the government has agreed to release N25 billion as revitalization fund between April and May 2019 after which it will commence full implementation of the 2009 agreement, while allowances of lecturers of University of Ilorin is to be paid immediately.

    The parties, he said also agreed that the Babalakin Committee which is charged with renegotiating the agreement should reconvene latest 18th February and March 29, 2019.

    Addressing newsmen later, President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi announced that the leadership of the union has agreed to suspend the strike action immediately beginning from Friday, February 8, 2019 with the condition that it will not hesitate to resume the action if the government failed to meet there part of the agreement.

    He, however, lamented the role played by some Vice Chancellors who attempted to break the rank of the union, adding that it will not hesitate to tackle them head-on.

    Ogunyemi said that “Based on the initial proposals from Government, the Union made extensive consultations through its various organs.

    “The final level of consultation was the meeting of the National Executive Council (NBC) which took place 6th-7th February, 2019. NEC resolved that: Following a careful review of the report of engagements with the Federal Government on proposals for addressing all outstanding in the 2013 M011 and 2017 MoA, NEC resolved that the current strike action by the Union should be suspended conditionally with effect from 12.01 am on Friday 8, February, 2019”.

    “However, should the government fail to fulfil its part of the agreement as reflected in the 2019 Memorandum of Action, ASUU shall resume its suspended strike action as the Union deems necessary”.

    “ASUU notes, with serious concern, the covert and overt roles of some vice Chancellors in the management and application of funds attracted by our Union to Nigeria’s public universities. Consequently, we condemn, in the strongest terms, Vice-Chancellors who have made efforts to undermine and, in some cases, attempted to break our patriotic struggles for the revitalization of public universities in Nigeria.

    “ASUU will not shy away from taking headlong those Vice-Chancellors who are reputed for acts of impunity, nepotism and other forms of conduct which are antithetic to university culture and the progressive development of our universities. Our union will compile all their shenanigans and forward them to relevant authorities for further action.”

     

  • Saraki seeks immediate end to ASUU strike

    Senate President Bukola Saraki on Wednesday asked the Federal Government to immediately end the strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Saraki said that the ASUU industrial action is already entering its 62nd day.

    In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, to the Senate President, Yusuph Olaniyonu, Saraki emphasised the need for Nigeria’s universities to be re-opened without further delay.

    It said that Saraki highlighted the fact that education of Nigeria’s young people is being negatively affected by the stance of the government and disenfranchising the youths, many of whom are registered to vote in their universities — but are now stuck in their homes.

    Olaniyonu quoted Saraki to have said: “In November 2016, the Senate intervened in the ASUU strike and met with the officials of the Ministries of Education and Labour, Employment and Productivity and the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

    “At that meeting, which was attended by the Minister of State for Education Anthony Anwuka and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Productivity in the National Assembly, we agreed that the Federal Government should work to implement the agreement that it reached with ASUU in 2009, and subsequently, we set up a sub-committee to liaise with both ASUU and the Federal Government on this issue.

    “The Federal Government must immediately work to address the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), because this issue goes beyond negotiations.

    “It is affecting the education of Nigeria’s students, and disenfranchising many of them from participating in the upcoming general elections.

    Read Also; Saraki, Ahmed crippled LGs in Kwara, not Buhari – APC

    “Make no mistake, we cannot continue this system whereby our universities will be frequently shut down, thereby slowing down the education of our young people — and creating negative bottlenecks that place unnecessary stress on our universities.

    “In another vein, our youth make up over 51 percent of registered voters. What does this mean for our electoral process, when young students who are registered to vote in their academic institutions, cannot do so because their schools are shut down? This is unacceptable.

    “In this regard, I call on the Federal Government to immediately work on meeting the demands of ASUU and honouring all its prior commitments.

    “On our part, the Senate will continue to work to ensure the education sector is strengthened — and we are ready and willing to collaborate with both the Federal Government and ASUU to end this strike, and ensure that it does not become a recurrent issue”

  • Our Girls;  Youth; ASUU; Election- no violence, bribes

    Our Chibok girls were kidnapped on April 15, 2014. Inexplicably our Dapchi girl-child, 15, Leah Sharibu is not released.  Still more Boko Haram murders.

    The huge turnout of desperate youth for the nationwide #BigBrother Naija auditions is a pointer to the suffering and yawning chasm in the lives of the youth seeking solutions to the problem in their lives – access to a normal livelihood in which aspirations can be achieved by hard work and honesty. They are forced to fight for spaces in a sometimes disgraceful show of shameful human emotions that is voyeurism at its worst. But can these same youth translate or metamorphose that demonstrated attempt to solve this desperation into the need to act in the coming political arena, not as thugs but as keen voters immune to bribes? They know the cause of their lack of jobs is entirely political, greed and corruption-based all compounded by Nigeria being a country with the most expensive electricity supply in the world -generator power complicating business models and compounding the cost of doing business and being a customer in Nigeria for every single citizen. Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, has computed that approximately N246b was spent on generator fueling in two years. All this is transferred directly to the client or customer through higher charges.

    The youth voters we know are in their good numbers, enough to swing the election in any direction they want. Will the youth vote contribute to getting the needed political change and come out with similar dedication, conviction and tenacity to ensure that they all, and their friends and peers, vote on February 16? The youth vote can swing the election in any direction it wants. But it requires to be united to make the needed change. If it unites behind one candidate nationwide, it could place any president in power of its choosing. Fragmented, the youth vote will be of no impact. By the way some smart youth has printed a ‘Big Brother PQP’ for sale. Anything to survive. But there is a problem with the youth of corporate Nigeria’s making. The whole issue of ‘instant millionairism’ was started years ago in the promotional bonanzas and prizes across many companies. The youth were attracted to quick money without work. At its peak every day, they advertised one or 10 instant millionaire competitions amounting to N2-3billion/year. All these have corrupted the minds of the youth raising a few winners, many losers and many more frustrated with life.

    It a great disgrace to Nigeria that its youth struggling to face their studies at university are on the receiving end of the ASUU strike. Everywhere we run into frustrated youth, sitting at home frustrated beyond words as time ticks by, time that cannot be recalled, while government and ASUU posture and play the game of negotiation, TV dramatics and media grandstanding. Sadly government continues to shirk its responsibility to meet criminal shortfalls in the education budget responsible for the disastrous state of the universities being campaigned against by ASUU. It is always a pity that the Nigerian public stands aside and masquerades as innocent bystanders or a disinterested  crowd when such strikes occur and watch instead of coming down in favour of one or the other side based on wise counsel. We have not heard any outcry by a parent and guardian coalition or more importantly the alumni associations of the universities backs by facts and figures in favour of one side or the other. Analytical education news articles on the causes and consequences of the strike are sadly thin on the ground in number and especially in vital statistics. ASUU is notorious for being a poor public advocate of the need for a strike and public opinion is too often swayed against ASUU by fickle press stories. Nobody wants a strike. Any incoming government must face its enormous responsibility to clean up the mess created in education by serial underfunding of past governments whose heads sit on the Council of State and continue to mislead us into the future.

    The courts have finally forced the forfeiture of Patience Jonathan’s N1b even as they have lost all credibility in the eyes of the public with judge after judge falling under the microscope but no all passing the anticorruption test.

    The arctic freeze is a reminder of the fragility of the earth and how lucky we are in Nigeria. Just imagine for a moment if we had such weather and such a poor power supply system. Just imagine how many would be frozen to death. So far, our greedy, selfish politicians, totally responsible for our situation of ‘the poorest power grid in Africa’ are very lucky that we are so complacent and the weather is so good to us and we accept and cope with the heat.

    As we prepare to vote next Saturday, look at the politicians you seek to place in power over you for the next four years and count the number of thugs they move around with. The more the thugs the less the sincerity. Please work for a peaceful election and keep as many photographs of any violence without endangering yourself. Death is permanent to thug and voter.  We want to vote without violence!

     

    • Uncover ‘I LOVE NIGERIA’ KNOWLEDGEABLE CANDIDATES for 2019 -SDG 16.

     

  • Fed Govt hopeful ASUU, ASUP strike ‘ll end this week

    THE Federal Government has expressed hope that the strike embarked upon by university and polytechnic lecturers will end this week.

    It said it has resolved the issues, which made the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) to embark on strike.

    Minister of Education Adamu Adamu stated these to reporters during a briefing in Abuja at the weekend.

    The minister said: “I should comment now on the ongoing strike, which I hope that it will be called off today or perhaps tomorrow. But certainly there will be no strike by next week (this week).

    “For ASUU, which also accept to call of their own since last week, we have virtually resolved all issues as we await the union to call off their own strike. We hope they will do so immediately.

    “I expected by now ASUU will have called off their strike because we have virtually reached agreement on all issues. So, I hope either today or tomorrow, but certainly within next week ASUU strike will be off. “

    The minister said the government has released N16.8 billion to settle outstanding allowances and shortfalls.

    He said the disbursement would be done by the Office of the Auditor -General of the Federation.

    He praised the colleges of education union for ending its strike.

    The minister said: “First I will like to commend COEASU for calling off their strike. We will like to thank them for being so reasonable and for calling off the strike to allow students to be back in classes.

    “Government will reciprocate this gesture by fulfilling all terms of agreement that we have reached with COEASU.

    “In particular, I will like to tell you that we have reached the following agreements:

    “•The review of the Polytechnic Act. Government awaits the transmission of the amended document by the National Assembly to Mr. President for his assent. We are waiting for the National Assembly to act.

    “•Revitalisation of polytechnic and colleges of education. Government is committed to the revitalisation of facilities in institutions and have directed the Minister of Finance to source for additional funding to the tune of N30 billion for that purpose. This is in reference to polytechnics and colleges of education and which is one of their demands.

    “•On the issue of state polytechnics, NBTE has been directed to strengthen regulatory mechanism because their complaint actually is these institutions are left without supervision so that standards are low. NBTE will see to that.

    “•Issue of allowances shortfalls is being addressed and government has released (N16, 800, 000, 000) to settle all outstanding arrears. Disbursement is ongoing through the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.”

    But, ASUU President Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi said the union had not agreed to suspend its over three months’ strike.

    Prof. Ogunyemi said the union has gone back to its members on what the government has promised to do.

    He said the union has reached agreement with the government on some areas that are not “contentious”.

    “We are expecting our members to consider and get back to us with our own final statement too. That is the progress that we have made. Government has given its own final statement. ASUU will make its own final statement known before the end of the week.

    Also, ASUP President Usman Dutse said the union had not suspended its strike.

    He also denied that the Federal Government had met all its demand.

    Dutse said the union would decide if it will end the strike after a meeting with its members within the week.

  • ASUU to tackle ‘uncooperative’ vice chancellors

    THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)may be preparing for confrontation with some vice chancellors whom they described as not cooperating even though they will spend the money the union is asking the Federal Government to release.

    Some of the vice chancellors have reportedly been intimidating lecturers in their institution and have ordered them back to the classrooms. Some have reportedly commenced examinations.

    ASUU National President Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi said in an interview in Abuja that the attitude of some of the vice chancellors was worrisome.

    He stressed that the union is prepared to engage such vice chancellors, when the ongoing strike is suspended or called off.

    He expressed regret over some members of the union, who choose to betray their conscience by opting out of the strike.

    Ogunyemi added that such members who might be aggrieved ought to take opportunity of available internal mechanism for resolving such crisis, adding that the union would address their issues at the appropriate time.

    Giving three reasons why some members might have opted out of the strike, Ogunyemi said: “There are many reasons why some members have pulled out of the action. In some campuses, some vice chancellors are so uncooperative even though they are the ones, who will spend this money that ASUU is agitating for.

    “In some places, some of them will misapply the fund. That is why you will continue to see crisis because when we go back, we are going to engage many vice chancellors. In some state universities, their governors are playing the ostrich, pretending to be funding their universities.

    “Today, we call many state universities TETFUND universities because the bulk of their capital projects in the last 10 years came from TETFUND support and lately, the NEEDS assessment grant.

    “Governors, who own such universities will be giving their vice chancellors directive to go and open the universities. They are just not being sincere to themselves because they are actually not doing what is expected of them.

    “Another reason is because some of our members are aggrieved for reasons best known to them. Some have threatened to pull out of ASUU and go their own way.

    “When you take it on the balance, you find out that within their inner self, they are not opposed to what we are asking for because the Earned Academic Allowances will go to them, revitalisation fund will go to their universities and where they have salary shortfall, it will be refunded to them.”

     

  • Strike: We are still consulting – ASUU President

    Three months after going on strike, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it is still consulting with its members over offers made by the Federal Government.

    The union’s National President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Lagos that they would meet with officials of the government within the week.

    According to him, government had made some offers in the course of meetings with ASUU which are still being deliberated by members.

    “We are still consulting with our chapters across the country.

    “There are promises that government made and we are trying to consult with the various university chapters on the options before the union.

    “By the time we are fully aware on what is left of our demands from what the government is offering, then we will know what steps to take, even as negotiations with the government continues.

    “For instance, we are in touch with about 20 universities that are affected, to be sure of the level of implementation.

    “By the time we finish our assessment, we will now send our response back to government, concerning the level of implementation.

    Read Also: ASUU tackles Fed Govt over N163 billion varsity funds

    “And depending on the outcome of our further engagements with government, we will now get back to our members,” he said.

    Ogunyemi said ASUU is expected to be involved in another round of meeting with the government within the week, adding that he expects a positive outcome.

    NAN reports that the university teachers have been on strike since Nov. 4, 2018 over alleged non-implementation of agreements it entered into with the federal government in 2009 and 2017.

    Their demands are on better welfare package and improved teaching and learning environment, among other issues.

  • ASUU tackles Fed Govt over N163 billion varsity funds

    THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has asked the Federal Government to stop distorting facts about funds released to the union and the universities.

    It said the ongoing strike by the university teachers will still linger owing to a few disagreements between the government and the union on the mode of releasing agreed funds to the universities.

    ASUU National President Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi spoke with The Nation on the sideline of the Central Working Committee meeting of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), at the weekend.

    He said the union was not a spending agency of government, adding that the comment credited to the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, that N163 billion was released to the union was a distortion of facts.

    But the Minister of Education Adamu Adamu is optimistic that the ASUU strike may end this week.

    Adamu stated this during a briefing with reporters in Abuja at the weekend on the proliferation of illegal institutions.

    ASUU members have been on strike since November 4, 2018.

    The minister said: “Perhaps by next week, I hope the ASUU strike will be over.”

    However, Ogunyemi said the N163 billion referred to by Ngige was released to the universities by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to meet specific needs in the universities and should not be equated to the revitalisation fund being demanded by the unions.

    He said: “The Minister of Labour referred to the release of N163 billion, which was not released by the Ministry of Education for revitalisation. That fund he alluded to was from TETFUND.

    “TETFUND was there when we carried out the NEEDS Assessment in 2012. What we called Revitalisation Fund today is a product of that exercise of 2012. We have always drawn a line of distinction between what TETFUND gives and what we should access from the NEEDS Assessment Fund. They are different terms of interventions that should not be equated to one.

    “TETFUND as an intervention agency is ASUU brainchild, which became a reality. The funds from the NEEDS Assessment is to fix specific items of deficiency in our system.

    Unfortunately, both Federal and state governments have now relinquished their responsibilities to TETFUND. The Federal Government budget for education in term of capital project funding is worrisome.

    “That is why we keep saying that the Ministry of Labour and Employment should stop saying N163 billion has been released to ASUU. ASUU is not a spending agency of government. We don’t spend government money. When money is released, it goes to the universities and governing councils who are representatives of government in the schools. It is a distortion, if we say N163 billion was released to ASUU.”

    He explained that the issue of university revitalisation has remained contentious with the union demanding a release of N50 billion to the universities before the strike is suspended, while government is saying it cannot meet that demand as a result of the condition of the economy.

    He expressed the hope that when both parties meet again this week, the issues in contention will be resolved to allow students return to classes.

    Ogunyemi said the union has tried to bend backward in its demands as a result of the intervention of Nigerians.

    He said the union was still consulting on whether to end the strike or not.

    According to him, the union wants to take stock of what government has promised.

    He said: “All I can say, for now, is that we are still consulting. We need to take stock of government’s promises in terms of aspects that have been fulfilled and what is left.”

  • ASUU/ASUP Strike: Fund education, students tell FG

    Adeyinka Akintunde

     

    Students have called on the federal government to listen to demands of the striking university lecturers and fund education for the progress of the country.

    This was the resolution at the weekend in Lagos during a protest by a coalition of student groups from different campuses in Lagos State.

    Speaking to The Nation, the national mobilization officer of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Wole Olubanji said that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) are justified in their demands, going by the conditions in tertiary institutions today.

    He said, “ASUU and ASUP are justified in their course. It is the federal government that has been reneging in their agreement with the body, and the agreements are still relevant today. We have universities without schools and laboratories, pointing to the fact that government have to fund education.

    Asked if the demands made by the university lecturers are realistic, Olubanji said “When government was going to bail out the banks, was it realistic to spend as much as a trillion naira on bailing bankrupted institutions. But they did that because they had interest in their deposits saved in them. But we are talking about institutions that affect the general Nigerian masses”.

    “Why should a government exist if it cannot benefit the citizens? Government should to use the resources of the country to advance its citizens, and it can be done by education.”

    Read Also: ‘My government will interface with students’

    Olubaji noted that the Nigerian people are the real democracy the country enjoys, and they should be treated as such. “The ordinary Nigerian people are the real democracy in this country.  It is only a few people that are in the government, and opposition, majority of Nigerians are not involved, and this is because they are disappointed in what they have seen from the government.

    The ERC mobilization officer also had a word for students who just want the strike to end immediately. “If we have a situation where Nigerian students are united to make a justified demand, we will achieve our aims fast, but some people are afraid and they want ASUU/ASUP to call off the strike, so that they can graduate, but from what realistic angle are they coming from in their argument?

    ASUU had embarked on an indefinite strike since November 5th 2018, with sister body ASUP joining in 12th December 2018, over the non-implementation of the 2009 Federal Government/ASUU agreements and implementation of the 2013 and 2017 Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the union. The agreement between the Federal government and ASUP also remain unimplemented since 2016.

  • ASUU backs demotion of seven professors at Otuoke varsity

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Federal University, Otuoke on Thursday threw its weight behind the demotion of seven professors of the institution by the Senator Gbemisola Saraki-led governing council.

    In a communiqué signed by its chairman, Dr. Joseph Omoro, and the Secretary, Dr. John Kalama, released after its emergency meeting at the institution, ASUU said the action against the professors followed the extant rules governing the university.

    ASUU said the governing council looked into the case of the seven professors at its 10th meeting and reclassified the appointments of the lecturers following alleged lack of requisite scholarship.

    Professors affected by the exercise according to the union were Dr. Steve Nwabuzor, downgraded to Lecturer I; Dr. Leonard Shilgba downgraded from Professor to Senior Lecturer and Dr. Timothy Falade-Obalande, who was brought down to Senior Lecturer.

    Others were Dr. Felina Nwadike, from the rank of Associate Professor to Senior Lecturer; Dr. Sepribo Lawson-Jack, downgraded from the rank of Associate Professor to Lecturer I; Dr. Marcelina Offoha, from Associate Professor to Lecturer I; and Dr. Evans Eze, from Associate Professor to Lecturer II.

    ASUU said though its duty was to protect the right of its members, it would not encourage acts of indiscipline from members.

    The union said it was the responsibility of its members to work hard and be productive enough to acquire requisite scholarship to comply with appointment and promotion guidelines set by the university.

    It insisted the policy was not intended to replace appointees of the former Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mobolaji Aluko but an attempt to sanitise the system.

    The union said: “For instance, Dr. Steve Nwabuzor, now downgraded from the rank of professor to Lecturer I is not COREN-registered yet was appointed the Dean of Faculty of Engineering by the former Vice Chancellor (Prof. Mobolaji Aluko). His removal as the Dean is in line with the extant laws of COREN.

    “That when the current Vice Chancellor (Prof. Seth Accra Jaja) assumed duty in 2016, he did not remove Nwabuzor as the Dean of Faculty of Engineering despite the illegality (contradiction to COREN Act) of this appointment. He remained the Dean until December 2018.

    “That the action (the reclassification/demotion/downgrading of the seven professors) was not a witch hunt by the current Vice Chancellor on perceived opponents/allies of his predecessor/diasporans as claimed.

    “That the reclassification/demotion/downgrading of the seven professors was not an act against diasporans as claimed because there are other productive, resourceful and value-adding Diasporans working in the university.

    “This claim is a mere whipping of sentiments and cheap blackmail of being a Diasporan is not immunity against academic productivity.

    “That the reclassification/downgrading of the seven professors is in compliance with extant laws establishing the university.

    READ ALSO: Otuoke varsity demotes seven professors

    “That the reclassification/demotion/downgrading of the seven professors is in line with the request made by the four unions of the institution – the ASUU; the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities; the NAAT and the NASU, during the inaugural meeting of the university community with the second governing council of the university on May 25, 2016.”

    ASUU noted the action taken by the governing council and management of the FUO on the seven professors followed due process and not a witch-hunt as claimed.

    The union claimed specifically that Dr. Steve Nwabuzor was a member of the committee that reclassified other staff members of the university, hence, should not turn around and claim ignorance of the process.

    ASUU said the conversion of some of the appointments of the downgraded professors to contract appointments was in line with the public service rules of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    He stressed that the advancement of lecturers to ranks above Lecturer II is based on requisite scholarship among other conditions and in particular in accordance to “the rules and regulations governing conditions of the FUO.”

    ASUU demanded that the demoted professors should refund salaries earned illegally in line with public service rules.

    The union said it was not a foot soldier of the university governing council and management but a “watchdog”.

     

  • ASUU, government and development

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) formed in 1978, was preceded by the Nigerian Association of University Teachers (NAUT) which began in 1965. However, unionisation of university staff is a universal component of life and living. Thus, for example, in the UK, there was the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) which came into existence in 1904. It merged with the Association of University Teachers (AUT) in June 2006.  The merger is now christened, the University and College Union (UCU). In Ghana, such a body is called the University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (UTAG). This is in addition to the Technical University Teachers’ Association of Ghana (TUTAG). All these unions or associations are basically for promoting professionalism and welfare of staff members within the confines of national and trans-national understanding including relevance.

    Protests and/or strike actions are common to all unions in order to force government or its establishments to respect the views of workers. However, unions differ in terms of their modes of operation from one country to another. For instance, the longest strike embarked upon by UCU in the UK was in February 2018. It lasted for 14 days. The affected lecturers were protesting against obnoxious changes in their Pension Scheme that would make them worse off by about 10,000 pounds in a year. At least 57 universities including such world-class institutions as Cambridge, Oxford and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) took part in this strike. All the stakeholders never slept until an amicable settlement was reached. Again, AUT (prior to the merger) was not too bookish to get involved in regional or international politics.  This underscores the reason why in April 2005, AUT wanted to isolate Israeli academics. This was intended to force Israel to change aspects of its foreign policies embedded in maximum discrimination and oppression of the Palestinians. This boycott was with a special emphasis on the University of Haifa and Bar-llan University. The above scenario shows that university lecturers are the conscience of the society. Indeed, profound intellectualism is firmly rooted in borderless-ness.

    It is interesting to note that UTAG (University Teachers’ Union of Ghana) does not embark on strikes that would in most cases, be longer than five days. All the main stakeholders are conscious of the need to maintain a stable academic calendar and by extension, academic integrity and healthy society. Nobody wants to rock the boat. This is unalloyed patriotism in action! The central government speedily attends to the demands of UTAG. There is no room for superiority complex, unlike in Nigeria. This patriotic mentality paves the way for robust exchange programmes with such countries as UK, US and parts of Asia. Proportionally, Ghana spends much more on education than Nigeria despite the fact that the latter was a larger economy. One-third of the total national budgets of Ghana goes to education. The leaders know that without thoroughgoing education sustainable economic development remains a mirage. In Nigeria, only seven percent of the total budgets in 2018 was allocated to education.  The largest budget for education between 2009 and 2018 in the country was 9.94 percent of the total budgets of N4.962 trillion in 2014. This amounted to N493 billion. Nigeria had the lowest budget for education in 2010 with 4.83 percent. This amounted to N249.09 billion out of N5.160 trillion. UNESCO through its document christened, “Education for All” (EFA) has suggested at least 17.5 percent of the total budget of a country for education.

    Out of a total budget of N55.19 trillion in the last one decade, only N3.90 trillion (7.07 percent) went to the education sector. It is little wonder that Nigeria’s illiteracy level is the highest in the global village. In a plain language, more serious security challenges arising from abject poverty and hopelessness are imminent. Nigeria despite its huge natural resources remains a neo-colonial economy-packaging cassava and yam tubers among other crops for export to Europe, America and parts of Asia in the 21st century. The processed natural resources are then returned to us at exorbitant prices. We badly need local intermediate technologies for processing the available resources.  So far we are merely promoting Western and to some degree, Asian industrialisation at the expense of Nigeria’s economic development.  Therefore, good quality education is a necessity as opposed to an option. As far as the Nigerian leadership is concerned, education is a triviality, in a country where a single politician recently bought 40 buses in a day for electioneering campaigns. This is our dear country where over 80 million people are desperately poor and homeless.

    The federal government must learn to respect and implement agreements entered into with ASUU. Political administration is by its nature, an exercise embedded in transformation and/or continuity. It is to some extent, a continuum. Government can easily re-negotiate with ASUU who is always ready to prevent strike actions in the overall interest of Nigeria. But those representing government must have genuine humility and enormous administrative capacity in order to pave the way for robust, corporate bargaining. Arrogant and primitively over-zealous persons can only escalate the matter into a full-scale crisis because ASUU is not a zombie or lifeless organization. ASUU abhors strike actions because of their debilitating effects on the larger Nigerian society, but unfortunately the snobbish attitude, egoism and nonchalance of our government remain a big encumbrance to peace and progress on a sustainable scale.

    The behaviour of the Nigerian political class stinks to high heavens! Consequently, no Nigerian university belonged to the first 1000 universities by the recent world ranking and yet the country has 146 universities many of which are of course, near-complete, glorified secondary schools. More “universities” are in the pipeline. Every politician wants a university in his village for political gains. Unstable academic calendar, caricatured research facilities, poor welfare of staff and intellect-unfriendly environment are contributing to the current capital flight. An average of $2 billion is spent yearly for the overseas education of young Nigerians. Painfully, the Nigerian students who are the first victims of poor funding of education as well as incessant but inevitable ASUU strikes are yet to show sufficient concern. They are busy paying self-seeking visits to the political leaders/rulers who are consistently short-changing them and their parents. I feel pity for them because of their superficiality and unthinkable ignorance anchored to our relatively new social environment crafted and ruled by lust for positions, unbridled materialism and fractured values including value-systems. All these scenarios are a testament to the fact that Nigeria badly needs an ethical revolution.

     

    • Professor Ogundele is of Dept. of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Ibadan.