- The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) has finally sued ASUU. The aesthetic-in-ugliness of these fantastic suing is to probably prolong the strike and hand over the burden of her 7-year-old negotiation to the next government for another round of negotiations. Let me be very clear about what this would portend. A whopping 3 to 4 academic calendars would be gone. Since public universities alone accommodate over 1.7 million students (out of 2.1), coupled with over 6 cycles of “JAMBites” waiting, a conservative 5.5 to 7 million University-age-students, whose parents cannot afford Overseas or Private Universities would be without university education for the period.
- Suing ASUU is a horrible miscalculation for simple and obvious reasons. You cannot initiate, fuel, and promote a process, only to turn around and sue the victim. This is unimaginably dumb, to say the least. How does the FGN hope to explain to Nigerians and the Industrial Court that;
It ignored about 30 official and unofficial communications from ASUU, in the build-up to the current strike.§
It took them almost 17 months of strike and less than 6 months to the end of her tenure to come up with this case if there are no ulterior motives.§
They had set up a minimum of 4 committees whose recommendations they have refused to implement.§
It willingly entered and signed agreements with timelines, but has refused to honor them.§
- Some crucial outcomes of discussions between FG and ASUU;
- The FG has never denied that Public Universities are in poor condition and requires immediate rescue.
- They have never denied the massive flaws linked to IPPIS and that UTAS is better.
- They have not denied owing ASUU members over 8 years of hard-Earned Academic Allowance (EAA)
- They have also agreed that after 13 years, the stagnant salary of university academics is not only deplorable but a disgrace.
The only missing link is the absence of willingness to improve or replace what FG has admitted as a failure. Unfortunately, the FGN seems to underrate the bottled-up frustration among millions of Nigerians, especially the teeming youths whose future is helplessly being crumbled.
- It is pertinent to state that in search an of alternative dispute resolution mechanism, ASUU had involved royal fathers, religious leaders, members of the national assembly, the National inter-religious Council (NIREC) led by Sultan of Sokoto, and CAN president among others who have interfaced with the president and presidency. No recommendation from all these groups seems good enough for the FGN. Not one. Several reports from FG-constituted committees were also not good enough. The only proposal that got the nod of the FG was an increase in tuition fees to hundreds of thousands of Naira, as is exemplified currently in Nigerian Law School (over 1 million naira). It took the tasking resilience of ASUU to halt that idea.
- Consequently, the FGN deployed an outdated, inhumane, and outlawed tactics of starvation and psychological derangement which has led to thousands of casualties within the university community. So, while suing ASUU, FGN should remember that in 1998 the International Criminal Court Statute codified starvation methods as WAR CRIME, EVEN IN ARMED CONFLICT. In furtherance to that, on May 24, 2018, the United Nations (UN) Security Council unanimously passed a resolution condemning the use of food insecurity and starvation as a tactic of war. Violating this could be seen as CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY. ASUU is not in armed conflict with the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), they are in disagreement on labor matters. So, if the FGN feel that ASUU’s crime is grave enough to warrant the weaponization of hunger, keeping them sick and watching them die out slowly, continuously, and gruesomely from manageable ailments (while withholding 8 years of their EARNED allowances), as is currently the case, then they may wish to clarify, in exact terms, the crime being committed by members of ASUU that has indeed warranted such measure of rebuke. My prayer is that they do not take the union to ICC.
- Despite the ridiculous consequences of the 7-months-old physical and psychological warfare against the Lecturers, Students, and the host communities, the FGN in her wisdom believes that the pain was not excruciating enough just yet. There must be an intractable scar on the public university system “so other unions can learn from it”.
- The future is bleak and the tears are drying up. Hopes are being shattered while the political class keeps thriving. The NUT and railway workers gave up some years ago. Doctors and Nurses are tired of the struggle and are leaving the country in droves. Academics who have continued to train more students to relatively make up for the huge vacuum are being strangulated and are also leaving the country as well. The patriotic ones that earlier turned down foreign opportunities for their beloved countries are now living in regrets.
- The academia, millions of students, and parents, will remember the common oppressors at an individual level and as a group for the “fantastic services,” they have patriotically rendered.
May God help us
By Samuel Atabo
University of Agriculture, Makurdi
