FG-ASUU face-off: Who blinks first?

Ahead of the Federal Government’s (FG) threatened sack of  striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) upon failure to resume work latest December 9, lecturers are still adamant. There is no sign that the aggrieved ASUU members are either ready to call  off the six months old strike or even shaken by […]

Ahead of the Federal Government’s (FG) threatened sack of  striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) upon failure to resume work latest December 9, lecturers are still adamant. There is no sign that the aggrieved ASUU members are either ready to call  off the six months old strike or even shaken by government’s threats of mass sack of lecturers. 
Weekly Trust investigations in major universities across the country, revealed  a renewed zeal by the lectures not to heed to the FG directive until their demands are met.
For instance, lecturers at the University of Jos (UniJos) have refused to resume work in spite of the FG   and university authorities’ directives to resume work immediately.
Management of the university had on Monday directed lecturers to resume work immediately and also ordered the various heads of departments of the institution to publish lecture time table for all academic programmes.
A lecturer who pleaded anonymity said   “we had a meeting on Wednesday and we have resolved to continue with the strike until government concretizes the resolutions we reached during the discussion with President Goodluck Jonathan. I heard registers have been opened, I don’t know where they have placed them, but I am not signing it.”
The ASUU-UNIJOS chairman, David JangKam had in a press conference said majority of its 1012 members were not bothered by the FG’s threats.
JangKam said   “we have asked our members to report if any query is issued to them by the authority, but so far we have not received any complaints.”
The ASUU chairman expressed regrets that the FG would rather prefer to direct governing councils of universities to reopen universities and open attendance registers instead of responding to ASUU’s request to formalize the resolutions reached with it.
At the Gombe State University (GSU), ASUU has accused the FG  of prolonging the strike by deliberately playing around with its demands.
Speaking during a press conference, its chairman,  Umaru Adamu said the FG accepted to deposit N200 billion with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as 2013 revitalization fund and a memorandum of understanding between it and the union signed,  but it has  done so.
He said ASUU demanded that a non-victimization clause be captured in the Memorandum of Understanding and be signed by the  Attorney-General of the Federation and its representative,  but the FG is  foot-dragging on the matter.
Adamu said the MoU represented 80 per cent of its total demands which would warrant suspension of the strike if it is signed by a representative of the FG.
The ASUU chairman said the job of lecturers is stipulated by the university statutes which clearly spell out conditions for employment, promotions and dismissal of lecturers at all levels.
He revealed that at present, Nigeria has 30,000 academic staff,   who have certain rights that cannot be wished away by any government or minister.
Adamu said for a Minister of Education to pronounce a threat of mass sack of academic staff was a tragedy of huge proportion not only to Nigeria, but the whole of Africa.
The ASUU chairman said the union has vowed to bow only to what it is convinced would serve the interest of Nigeria and its people no matter its ethnic, religious or class origins. “This is unshakable stand”, it said.
 The same adamant stand obtains at the University of Ibadan (U.I.) ASUU-UI has  reiterated that the ongoing struggle will be fought to its logical conclusion, as it insisted that the death of its  former President, Professor Festus Iyayi, will not be in vain.
Addressing journalists shortly after a procession held by the academic staff of the institution in honour of the late ASUU President, ASUU chairman, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye, declared   that ASUU would continue to fight for the emancipation of the Nigerian education sector and the masses.
In Usman Danfodiyo University (UDUS), Sokoto, there is no indication that lectures would resume work in spite of the threat.
ASUU-UDUS Chairman Dr. Farouk M. Tambuwal, said they would not shift grounds on their demands for the implementation of the resolution reached at their meeting with President Jonathan.
“We will not be intimidated, we will continue to stick to our position of no implementation, no resumption,” he insisted.
At a meeting held on Wednesday, the executive committee of the union unanimously resolved to continue with the strike until the FG implements the resolutions. The institution is still deserted, with few students who are held back by their final year projects.
The Dean of the Students Affairs, Dr. Ibrahim Magawata, told Weekly Trust that the students were allowed to continue with their stay in the hostel, saying as far as they are concerned, the school is not closed only that the lecturers are not willing to resume work.
The Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Prof. Mobolaji Aluko told Weekly Trust in an e-mail that  that he would prefer the protracted face-off between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end like World War II.
“But like at the end of such wars, people will ask “why did we not go this way before this war began, so that all these lives were not so wasted?” But we must now ask ourselves: Should ASUU war 2013 end like World War II, in which even the victors felt that they gave the vanquished a raw deal – and the vanquished reared their ugly head again a few years later – or should it be like World War II, when both victors and the vanquished;   and the innocents in between – were so exhausted that they both said “never again!” and have been working to avoid that ever since?
At the Benue State University (BSU) ASUU has dared the management to open resumption register for its members and see if any lecturer would sign it.
Weekly Trust gathered during a visit to the BSU campus that the school authority was yet to open a register in compliance with the FG’s directive for striking lecturers to return to classroom or face sack.
Chairman ASUU-BSU,   Dr. David Ikoni said the FG’s order amounted to an empty threat and as such no lecturer would comply or resume work.
“I dare the university management to open any register because if they do, no member would sign it,” Ikoni boasted.
Similarly, the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi,  (UAM) ASUU chairman,   Dr. Celestine Aguoru said his members had resolved not to sign any of the registers already opened by the institution’s  management.
According to him, the resolution was reached after its congress met on Wednesday morning with over 500 members in attendance.
Weekly Trust observed that some colleges in the school had registers opened, but no academic members signed to indicate their resumption of work.
Meanwhile, the UAM management in a press statement announced that resumption register is opened for returning academic staff to sign with effect from Thursday, December 4, 2013.
At the University of Lagos (UNILAG) a student,  Jide Jolape  told Weekly Trust at  the Akoka, Yaba campus ofthe institution that  since last week they have been coming to schoolto carry out registration exercise alone.
A visit to some of the lecture rooms also revealed that there wereneither the lecturers nor students.
ASUU-LASU resolved after its congress that the  contending issues have to be resolved.
Its chapter chairman, Dr. Adekunle Idris, insisted that the strike action will continue until the FG shows serious commitment in meeting the demands put forward by the national leadership of ASUU as it concerns the 2009 agreement.
At the University of Abuja, which was set to resume last Monday, about 40 per wcent of the students are back in school, but ASUU is polarised. According to a staff who spoke on anonymity, there are two factions within the varsity ASUU; the pro-Adelabu group and the anti-Adelabu group, who are perceived to be in the majority.
According to the source, “ASUU members within have told lecturers who have resumed work that they are no longer a part of the group.”