ASUU, STRIKE NOW… OR FOREVER REMAIN SILENT

By: Omodiagbe Justice

I know this is not a popular opinion among students. Which student would want an industrial action? I understand your apprehension. The strike action is getting incessant. It is barely a year since the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) called off her industrial action after a protracted ten months strike and the warning bells are sounding again.

The debate on who the greatest striker of all time has been on for a while now between Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. However, there is no doubt in the minds of Nigerian students that ASUU strikes better than both of them.

Punch newspaper on 11 December 2020 reported that ASUU has spent 1,500 days (about 4 years) on strike action since Nigeria returned to Democracy. The statistics are staggering!

The last strike action barely a year ago crippled the educational sector, shutting our Ivory Towers for about 10 months amid a pandemic when groundbreaking research was needed to find a headway.

A lot of destinies are delayed if not denied. Little wonder you cringed at this article. I understand your plight. I am a student as well and trust me I have felt the impact of the ASUU strike as far back as 2012 and up to date.

It was Albert Einstein who opined, "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. What have ASUU's incessant industrial actions over the years yielded? More strikes.

On the surface, it seems the logical thing to say but on closer look, ASUU's strike is the only reason we still have tertiary education in this country. Need I remind you Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) is the brainchild of ASUU.

Far from it, I am not exonerating ASUU from the rot in the system. ASUU has its shortcomings but there is an angle you may have not considered which I want you to look at.

Truly, like the African adage asserts, "when two elephants fight, the grass suffers." the question begging for an answer is how long will one elephant refuse to fight and keep being oppressed and intimidated because she is scared of the suffering of the grass?

Why must ASUU be the proverbial elephant that should always sue, cry and beg for peace to protect the students - the proverbial grass?

Should the other proverbial elephant be allowed to continue in rascality because ASUU will be told to look the way of the proverbial grass?

Shouldn't the proverbial grass suffer in hope that she would suffer no more since the bone of contention between the two proverbial elephants has a direct bearing on the proverbial grass? 

You are beginning to understand my school of thoughts and I can feel your anger towards me. You can’t fathom how an acclaimed student would encourage strike action. I wish you would have an open mind till the end of this publication.

"Are you advocating ASUU strikes at every industrial dispute with the Federal Government (FG)?" Far from it. Woe is me if I advocate such.

I don't want to bore you with the history of ASUU strikes. Just a quick reminder that the ASUU strike can be dated to 1988 during the military era and on return to civil rule in 1999 it was believed that strike actions would be a thing of the past but it turned out to be a farce, it rather became worse.

In 2009, after 120 days of strike, a new word was coined into the FG-ASUU impasse; it was called Memorandum of Understanding (MOA) and with each strike action, came more MOUs and later upgraded to Memorandum of Action (MOA). what a comedy - same result, different nomenclature.

Indeed ASUU is insane to keep employing this method for the past years - give notification of strike, down tools, trade blames with the FG, hold meetings with government, negotiate then sign an MOU/MOA, return to work then proceed on strike again after the FG reneges on its part of the agreement. This method is not working, ASUU must employ a better method.

“Hope that better method is not to down tools again?”

I wish there was a better method but you and I know that the FG is too irresponsible and insincere to go into dialogue. It seems violence is the only language they understand.

Voltaire was right when he said, "history never repeats itself, man always does." The FG has repeatedly shown that violence is the only language she understands. Otherwise, how do you explain that an agreement was reached with ASUU barely a year ago, the FG has failed to fulfill her part and since August this year, ASUU has raised alarm tirelessly with nothing done? Should they embark on strike action, everyone would be quick to blame them and none is talking of the FG irresponsibility, insincerity, and rascality.

Hear John F Kennedy’s thought, it may help you understand the position of ASUU in this imbroglio, “those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.”

Those who opine that ASUU should come up with a better way of engaging government rather than industrial action, I dare you to provide a better method to engaging this irresponsible government laden with lies. What else could ASUU possibly do?

The minister of labour and productivity, Senator Chris Ngige claimed on 2 August 2021 that funds are in the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria waiting for application from the Ministry of Education for eventual transfer to the NEEDS assessment fund account. How long will it take the government to conclude her paperwork and do the needful? Obviously, that is just politics. You can see the insincerity of the FG.

How long will it take to finish the integrity test on University Transparency Accountability System (ASUU)? This government reeks of lies.

Will it take rocket science for the government to compute and pay earned allowances to ASUU? ASUU is right to embark on another long strike only that they will be wrong to call it off after another MOU or MOA.

This is already a long read and that you have read to this point shows you are beginning to understand the angle I am coming from. This government is too insincere and irresponsible to follow the dialogue approach. 

I am no prophet of doom but I see this strike holding anytime soon, my appeal to ASUU is to not call off the strike until every bit of the agreement has been met even if it takes a decade. They shouldn’t be fooled with an MOU or MOA. Implement the agreement or no resumption.

I also appeal to the students to prevail on the FG to keep to her promise and stop reneging on agreements she enters with ASUU. For once, students must be on the side of ASUU only then can we demand accountability from them if the FG plays her role as agreed.

Signing another MOU and resuming without the FG implementing the agreement is tantamount to ASUU being the problem and a perfect example of Einstein's parable of quantum insanity. It would be better they didn't call any strike and continued to engage the government with the hope that the issues will be resolved. To do otherwise is to make the proverbial grass suffer with no end in sight, suffer in vain and lose the goodwill of a few of us.

ASUU, Strike now, don't sign any MOU or MOA. Don't call off the strike until all demands are met or forever remain silent.

Omodiagbe Justice Ejehi is a 100 level student of the Department of Dental Surgery.