The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), on Thursday said the federal government has not shown regard for tertiary education with the way it treats the welfare and conditions of service of its intellectuals in public universities.
This is just as it maintained that it will not abandon the fight to have decent welfare and conditions of service for its members, stating that it will ensure that governments commit adequate funding to the revitalization of public universities in the interest of the children of the masses.
The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan chapter, Dr. Adefemi Afolabi, stated these while featuring on a radio programme in Ibadan.
ASUU commenced a two-week warning strike on Monday to protest the failure of the government to sign the renegotiated draft agreement reached with the Yayale Ahmed-committee set-up by the administration of President Bola Tinubu to renegotiate with the union which concluded its sittings over eight months ago.
According to Afolabi, the federal government took ASUU for granted since the renegotiated agreement was reached, adding that it was not happy to proceed on the warning strike but was forced due to the delay tactic approach that the federal government adopted as well as its posture to jettison principle of collective bargaining.
He stated that the union organised protests to sensitise Nigerians on the need for the government to sign the draft renegotiated agreement with the government committee, but the government came back with a new committee to start the engagement all over.
This, according to the union, is a waste of time and resources and an indication that “the government was only interested in wasting our time and not ready to resolve the welfare and conditions of service of lecturers”.
Afolabi noted that there is a wave of resignation of high-profile professors in Nigeria’s public universities who are relocating abroad in search of greener pastures for themselves and their families.
Apart from this, Afolabi lamented that young lecturers who were recently employed are also resigning as they were shocked about the salaries and conditions of service when they were paid.
He said: “We don’t work in an ideal environment. How do you reward your intellectuals with so little and still expect them to be happy and continue to work? Our strike is based on a lack of trust in this federal government because their approach is not different from the previous ones.
“You do not want to strike, but government policies disrupt the livelihoods and survival of lecturers with galloping inflation. How can you not trust your own committees and will still come up with another committee to review what the last committee did and then set-up another expanded committee to meet with the union again?.
“Now the situation is terrible. Lecturers are finding it difficult to come to the office due to the high cost of transportation. Those who come cannot concentrate due to many unmet needs.
“Now, professors are voluntarily resigning and relocating abroad while first class graduates don’t even show interest in lecturing, not to talk of applying for the job. These events have consequences for the future of university education in Nigeria.”
Kemi Olaitan
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