*says intellectuals would resist being made slaves of irresponsible leadership
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday, asked Nigerians to disregard Federal Government’s claims of meeting most of the union’s 7 points demands that informed the ongoing strike.
Chairman of the University of Ibadan Chapter of the union, Professor Ayo Akinwole stated this in Ibadan while featuring on a live radio programme in Ibadan.
Professor Akinwole emphasized that as at present, the Federal Government is far from meeting any of the union’s seven demands and that all chapters of the union that started the over six-month old strike are intact and resolute to get what public universities need to survive and compete globally from the Federal Government of Nigeria.
According to him, ” government lied to the union severally and that the government instead of paying N220billion meant for 2014 revitalization fund, only paid N50billion to over 50 universities in the last seven years and that the
government has to pay the balance of N170 billion to university management.
Professor Akinwole stressed that
lecturers in Nigerian public universities have been using their blood to run the universities and sustaining it, saying that the union will not sacrifice its members’ welfare and will resist any efforts to turn intellectuals to slaves of irresponsible leadership.
He stressed that contrary to the Federal government claim, ASUU gave 14-month strike notice before embarking on the on going strike in 2022 and that even the effort of the Nigerian Interreligious council in 2021 yielded no results before the Union was forced to declare the strike on February 14, 2022, saying, the ” federal government is not talking about the over eight years earned academic allowances owed lecturers in public universities”.
“We waited for 14 months from December 2020 to February 2022 before declaring this strike. I am saying 14 months’ notice, 14months engagements and Nigeria Inter-religious council intervened in 2021 when we would have declared the strike”, he said.
Professor Akinwole added, “we gave them one month with no result. Heroes are gone before they are appreciated but our union will not die. We will not die. We are going to be alive to see this struggle through”
The ASUU Chairman also said the N1.1trillion for revatilisation of universities was not for lecturers in public universities and that the amount was arrived at by Federal government through her NEEDS Assessment report on the level of decay in Nigerian public universities.
Lauding ASUU members for sacrificing and remaining resolute to reposition public varsity education in Nigeria added that irresponsible leadership is the reason for strikes in Nigeria, Prof Akinwole declared that only strikes have forced government to spend money on her universities in the last twenty-five years.
“If ASUU does not go on this struggle, there will be no university for new people to attend. In the last twenty-five years, federal government will not spend money on their university unless ASUU goes on strike. Does that show they are responsible? I am also a parent and my children are home with me. Most lecturers have to spend their money on their students’ project for some students to graduate. I could give you numbers of some of my students who can tell you how much I have had to support their projects.
” Lecturers retain Nigerian public universities with their blood. But it is right for Nigerians to say they should die on the job. I am saying they are owing us over eight years verified earned academic allowances. Is it ASUU only that is on strike? Some sectors (research institutes) of the nation have been on strike for 13months and government has been paying their salaries. Is it an offence to become lecturers in Nigerian universities? What led to the strike? It is non-responsiveness of government that led to the strike.”
The ASUU Chairman further stated that UTAS has proved to be better over IPPIS yet the government that accepted that IPPIS is a fraud is insisting on going ahead with the fraud and jettisoning homegrown solutions from Nigerian intellectuals who “developed it with the check off-dues of ASUU members, donations and free services and given free of charge to the government but the government still prefers the fraudulent IPPIS imposed on them by those given them loans from the Bretton Woods Institutions”
