By Tosin Adesile
From all indications,it is very clear that the Federal Government of Nigeria had chosen the path of war over peace,if not, FG would not have paid the Academic Staff Union of Universities,(ASUU) Half Salary after eight months of Strike.
ASUU never went on strike because it choose to but the unfavourable situation in the Nigerian University system forced the Union to embark on Strike with the hope of reaching an agreement with the Federal Government but instead of that to happen, the Union had to call off strike after the industrial court instructed the union to call off the strike or forget an appeal after the case was struckout.
Clearly, the Union never called off the strike because it made headway on the issues raised which include: Increment in salary, rejection of IPPIS,revitalization of the University, Payment of earned allowance and other issues. The Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila had organised series of meetings with the leadership of ASUU where Minister of Labour,Senator Chris Ngige was said to have walked out on the panel due to his constant disagreement with the union.
Anybody with a degree from a government university must have passed through ASUU, and all will see how unfair it is to neglect the union looking their critical role in nation building which is not commensurate with their renumeration.
The economic deficiency and low purchasing power of the naira is glaring, yet we do not want corrupt lecturers.
According to a report released by ASUU Jos,it was claimed that Ngige had written the office of the accountant General that ASUU members should be paid on half salary instead of full salary. Even full salary in this present economy can hardly pay bills,why pay them half salary?
As a lecturer myself,my salary cannot feed my home. I engage in constant argument with my wife on the little things she buy home from the market which is not her fault. Why will the Government be intentional about punishing the academics who in actual fact, should be one of the highest paid professionals, but are not.
From all indications, ASUU-NEC will meet next week and they may be deciding to down tools again. Should this be the way to go for an administration that had taken Nigeria from 60 to 0?
The ASUU Chairman UNILAG, ‘Dele ASHIRU in a release titled:
“PAYMENT OF AMPUTATED AND CRIPPLED OCTOBER SALARY” described the action of the Government as insensitive and disheartening.
He said further that a supposedly democratic government can be so vicious, reckless and inhuman in dealing with the best brains in our society.
Ashiru explained that the leadership of the Union at the National level has been duly informed about this unfortunate development and they are on top of the issue.
He enjoined ASUU members to remain calm and await further directives from the National Secretariat even in the face of this brazen provocation and crass wickedness by this administration.
In my own view,if ASUU embark on another strike,Buhari’s Government should be blamed in its entirety. A serious government should have sacked Ngige by now for being callous and wicked.
May this Government never in the history of Nigeria repeat itself.
In as much as I understand what lecturers are going through, I must also appeal to Nigerian students as well.
Many of them have already paid house rent for two years without staying there, a wasted expense due to the strike, in this crippled economy.
The song that should in our mouths in the face of tribulation should be: We shall overcome, we shall overcome someday.
If they prefer war over peace,then ASUU should also not tow the path of peace because people cannot work on empty stomachs.
The politicians had continued to stockpile cash in their homes,office,cars and extended houses while the common man which ASUU members belong to are the ones suffering from neglect.
It is high time lecturers take the bull by the horn,if the Government wants the school closed,so be it. It is just that when two elephants fight, the grass suffers. Students are at the receiving end of Federal Government’s callousness.
No work,No pay is evil and people fighting for their legitimate rights cannot be ambushed with half salary while the government deducted full tax from half salary. Isn’t it meant to be half tax from half salary? Something is wrong somewhere.
Education is the bedrock of development,and it should be handled with utmost seriousness if we are to develop as a nation.