By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, ABUJA BUREAU
The President of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, has accused the Federal Government of insincerity in dealing with the Union just as he insists that the Nigerian authorities have shown clear sign of
insensitivity to the plights of the country’s lecturers.
He also alleged that government is not interested in fixing the Nigerian universities to take its rightful place in the comity of nations because the children and wards of top federal government officials school abroad.
Speaking on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily on Wednesday on the looming ASUU nationwide strike, Professor Osodeke revealed that as long as the federal government is not ready to keep to its part of the agreement with Union strike is imminent.
He lamented that the intervention of prominent Nigerians including the reverred Royal Father and the Saultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar and Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese and Secretary of Nigeria Peace Council (NPC), Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah have not persuaded the federal government to do the needful.
Asked if ASUU is not willing to adhere to the passionate appeal of President Muhammadu Buhari for the Union to shelve any idea of going on strike while efforts are being made to resolve the issues, Professor Osodeke stated that ASUU has waited in vein for the resolution of the disputes.
“I make bold to say that nobody from the federal government side have talked to us (ASUU) on the matter at hand. We are not surprised because the children and wards of government officials are in the schools abroad. They send their children abroad while they leave Nigerian universities in bad shape”.
“Funny enough, they are proud of it. They quickly travel overseas to attend the graduation of their children and they will brag with it. They don’t care about Nigerian universities which are in very poor conditions. This is what is happening and ASUU is saying no to it”, the University Don stated.
ASUU is insisting that FG is yet to keep to agreement it signed with the Union last year after nearly one year of nationwide strike which kept students at home longer than necessary.
According to ASUU: “It is now 14 months since, yet the Federal Government has only released N55 billion to partially address the issues of Earned Allowances and the Universities Revitalisation”.
The main cause of work stoppages by ASUU is the Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, reached between the Federal Government and the union in 2008 which was never implemented. After series of strikes which always ended with the FG giving assurances during the negotiations, ASUU went on one of its most protracted strikes in March 2020, just before the Coronavirus pandemic lock-downs.
The union eventually called of the strike in December 2021 after the unimplemented MOU was renamed Memorandum of Action, MOA.
