The reopening of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, last week, ought to be cheery news for students, who were sent home for six months due to a workers’strike. But after the resumption announced by the institution’s Governing Council, students were worried about the “disheartening responses” from their lecturers who have vowed not to resume until their demands are met. ISRAEL FAWOLE reports.
Six months after activities at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) were paralysed following an industrial action by teachers and non-academic staff, the institution’s Governing Council, last Thursday, announced its reopening. But, strike-weary students are not cheered by the news.
In an email by the Registrar, Mr. Jacob Agboola, the management urged students and employees to resume at the Ogbomoso and Osogbo campuses, adding that registration would commence on October 3, after the Independence holiday.
Mixed reactions have been trailing the announcement of the school’s resumption. Besides, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and other workers’unions, under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), have vowed not to return to work, until their demands are met.
ASUU Chairman Dr. Biodun Olaniran and the JAC leader Mr. Muraina Alesinloye said their members would not resume, because the unions were not aware of the resumption directive.
Olaniran said the union was unaware of the university’s announcement of a resumption date. He said members would remain on an indefinite strike until its demands were met by the Visitors to the school – Oyo and Osun state governments.
The ASUU demands, according to Olaniran, include payment of 11 months’ salaries, earned academic allowances, gratuities and pensions, health insurance and promotion, among others.
He said: “ASUU will not obey any resumption directive until our demands are met. If our demands are not addressed by the Visitors to the school, the strike continues indefinitely.”
Alesinloye said none of the three unions under JAC was aware of the resumption. He said: “I am the chairman of SSANU, but I am speaking as the chairman of JAC now. We are not aware of the resumption and you will agree that you cannot obey any directive you are not aware of.”
For students, the unions’ responses to the resumption are worrisome, raising anxiety that the resumption could be a mirage at the end of the day.
Seleem Adeniyi, a 500-Level Chemical Engineering student, said the reactions of the academic staff indicated that there was no agreement between the Governing Council and workers before the announcement of the resumption date. He urged the owner-states and the school management to meet with workers and accede to their demands.
Adeniyi said: “I am not elated about the resumption, because it could be temporary. The lecturers’ demands have not been met, yet we want them to come to teach. They also have heavy financial responsibilities to meet. They have children and family members to care for. They also need to pay for healthcare and other services. If they are not paid, we would be foolish to expect them on campus. The management needs to give them strong assurance on their demands.”
Having spent months at home, Oyekunle Oyedijo, a 500-Level Biochemistry student, said it would be disappointing if students’ hopes were dashed because of the ASUU’s no-resumption comment.
He said: “This crisis has caused a irreparable damage to students’ psyches. Some of us have died in the course of the strike. Some are on sickbeds. Even, some of our lecturers died because there was no money to pay for treatment. In the interest of students, the government and the management need to create a lasting solution to the crisis. Our hopes in the school would be dashed if this resumption is short-lived.”
Sodiq Babatunde, an Agricultural Science student, expressed concern about the rumour making the rounds that there could be hike in tuition fee.
“The burden of paying for hostels we have not stayed in for months is on us already. Yet, we are hearing that tuition fees could be increased, to drive up the school’s Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR). How do they expect us to balance this? They need to consider our plight, because the economy is not in good shape,” he said.
Enike Oleghe, a Pure and Applied Chemistry student, said: “I was so excited when I heard the news about our resumption, but it is unfortunate that the demands of the workers have not been met. This is pertinent to solving the crisis. The management, as a medium between the workers’unions and the government, should consider students’plight and hasten up the process of engaging the lecturers. They need to ensure that nothing disrupts this resumption. We are tired of staying at home.”
Damilola Abodun, a students’ leader, warned against tution fee hike, saying it would be counter-productive. He said the solution was not to increase tuition fee, but the effective management of resources. He added that students would move against any fee hike.
Titilayo Robert, a Transport Management student, said: “Announcement of resumption without the workers’unions looks like a political propaganda. We are begging the government to stop toying with our future. We are not getting any younger. If their own children attend schools abroad, they should remember children of the poor masses who can’t afford to send their own children overseas.”
Busayo Oyedele, another student, lamented that she had remained on the same level since 2015, describing the perennial strike as “disturbing”.
Busayo said: “The state of LAUTECH is pathetic. Our mates in other schools are ahead of us in many ways. How can university students remain on the same level for two years? We will keep begging them until they consider it right to do what is needful to restore the lost glory of LAUTECH.”
CAMPUSLIFE gathered that members of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) held a congress with some students’ bodies on Wednesday, last week, to discuss the way forward for LAUTECH. The congress was attended by the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), Alliance of Nigerian Students Against Neo-Liberal Attacks, Liberal Movement, National Liberty Vanguard, and Democratic Socialist Movement.
In their joint communiqué, the students’ bodies said they would mobilise against the Oyo and Osun states’ government should the school fail to re-open. They vowed to move against the Governing Council.
