ASUU strike sets Nigeria’s education back

It is clear to everyone that children, who are born innumerate and illiterate, quickly learn the culture and norms of the community they are born into, with the help of those around them and professional teachers. Within a short time, the children are able to read, write and act in an appropriate way. The skills […]

It is clear to everyone that children, who are born innumerate and illiterate, quickly learn the culture and norms of the community they are born into, with the help of those around them and professional teachers. Within a short time, the children are able to read, write and act in an appropriate way. The skills improve as the child grows, and with time, they will have learnt enough to enable them to operate in the society without constant guidance.
Unfortunately, most societies today embrace the narrow view that encourages people to get an education as a way to enhance their own individual needs, as enshrined in  the 1999 constitution of Nigeria  chapter(4) that there’ shall be free and compulsory education for all’. In the country that we are of almost 160 million people, but only very few get a chance to obtain that education and for those that have the opportunity, they are confronted with lack of the proper environment, water scarcity, failure of electricity and so on, due to insensitivity of government to adhere to the provisions of the constitution. The set back to educational development is as result of failure of government to enrich the university system with all what it need, which causes on and off ASUU strikes over the years in Nigeria.
The ongoing nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which began last week Monday because of the federal government’s alleged failure to implement some of the issues contained in a 2009 agreement with the association and the union also accused the government of reneging on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) jointly agreed on in December 2011. The total and indefinite strike has affected students, traders, farmers, staff members of the universities and almost all Nigerian, the attitude of Nigerian students has changed as compare with the past. This depicts decay in the university system. In the past, students had to be driven away from hostel before they travel back home. Oh, what an education system we have today!
Our lecturers and the entire university community deserve a better condition of service if we must grow as a nation, the monetary demand of ASUU can be paid by one governor but because most of their children are studying abroad, they do not care. Our parents are always running form pillars to posts to pay schools fees in spite of the economic hardship in the country, while some persons are sitting in the comfort of their offices inflicting more pains on parents, guardians and students. Continuous strikes by lecturers in Nigeria have severally disrupted the academic calendar thereby delaying the graduation of many students from various institutions and preventing the Nigerian student from contributing effectively to the economy. As for students like me just few days to the final year first semester examinations, in other universities, other students had even started their exams and now the universities have been shut down, the situation is not a good one.
If this strike stays long, while it will affect thousands of Nigerian students, and some may die, lose job opportunity, and others could involve in deviant conduct to survive, though no one should pray for this to happen. The authorities should look into the situation and implement the agreement made between then and ASUU, so that universities could resume as quickly as possible.

Ayuba is of Department of Political Science, Bayero University, Kano. <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>;