A flurry of meetings, negotiations and consultations this past week culminating in an offer of pay increases and a promise to release N200 billion to revitalise federal universities failed to persuade striking dons to call off their nearly seven-month strike. Following meetings involving the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), key government agencies and its re-negotiation team, the Federal Government made concrete offers and sought to persuade the Academic Staff Union of Universities to call off the strike that has cost students almost an entire session. Terrible mistakes have been made, missteps taken; for the sake of the students, their parents, and guardians, and to save the battered tertiary education system, both sides should adopt moderation and well-considered compromises to end the action today.
The PUNCH maintains its long-held position that the government bears the major responsibility for the rot in the education sector and the restiveness it birthed by its riotous mishandling of the sector, reckless establishment of institutions, under-funding, and interference in their running. Most despicable is the penchant of successive governments to pen agreements just to douse agitation, and thereafter refuse to honour the pacts. It must also responsibly take the lead in restoring sanity to the system.
Perennial strikes by ASUU since 2009 are rooted in this disreputable behaviour. ASUU, on its part, has over-used the strike option to fight the government’s shortcomings but has failed to cleanse its own ranks of abuses or confront university administrations over their maladministration and corruption.
Buhari finally moved recently to do what he should have done long ago. His orders to the government’s negotiators and the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to persuade lecturers to return to work, and the offer of pay rises are years late in coming. This conciliatory intervention should have been taken at the take-off of his regime.
Most importantly, his warning to the negotiating team not to sign any agreement which the government would not be able to keep has the potential of knocking off the major excuse for the decades-long destabilisation of the university system and restoring trust in the sanctity of agreements in the public space.
Emerging from a meeting with pro-chancellors and vice-chancellors of federal universities, Adamu outlined the government’s solution: a 23.5 per cent salary increase for all workers in federal universities, and 35 per cent for professors; N150 billion and N50 billion to be provided in Budget 2023 for release in first quarter for universities’ revitalisation, payment of outstanding earned allowances; and prompt payment of allowances as they arise to all deserving staff.
Though ASUU promptly rejected the offer, saying that it would only be satisfied by the full implementation of previous agreements, it is a step towards a resolution. Ostensibly, ASUU’s pushback is based on the minister’s silence on the government’s earlier resolve not to pay striking lecturers for the period they did not work, the timeline for the release of the outstanding N1.2 trillion arising from the 2009 and 2012 agreements, and unresolved issues on the salary payment platform to be applied to dons. All these were part of the grounds on which the union called the strike.
Every effort should be made to end the impasse. The government should stop inking agreements it cannot keep. Agreements signed by previous administrations are binding on successive ones as government is a continuum. The kernel of endless strikes is the 2009 pact that itself, was meant to end previous shutdowns of universities, including one that lasted a whole year.
ASUU is within its rights to press for implementation. The Buhari regime is duty-bound to resolve the problem and work for full implementation. Going by past broken promises, ASUU is justifiably wary of crumbs or half-measures; it will settle only for iron-clad documented commitments.
According to its National Chairman, Emmanuel Osodeke, the union demands, among other things, funding to refurbish universities “in such a way that it can attract students from all over the world.”
“We’re asking for that money for Nigerian students, and Nigerian parents. The money is for building infrastructure, upgrading libraries, hostels, and lecture theatres so that students will not be having lectures through windows; so that students will not be sitting on the floor during lectures,” he highlighted. ASUU noted that the salaries of lecturers must be competitive and their earned allowances’ backlog paid.
The government is in a deep financial hole due to its fiscal recklessness and incompetence. It borrows to pay salaries, service debts and run the bureaucracy. While pleading lack of funds to honour its agreements, it establishes additional universities and other higher institutions. A report said 63 bills for new universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and mono-technics and special colleges are being considered by the National Assembly. There are currently 49 federal universities, 40 polytechnics and 27 colleges of education.
Adamu said that after meetings held with Buhari, relevant ministries, the Budget Office of the Federation, the Wages and Salaries Commission, ASUU’s proposed salary increases were found to be “unrealistic and out of tune with the current realities of the national economy.” ASUU should consider and negotiate around the offer for now. The government should come up with a realistic payment plan for the promised N1.2 trillion revitalisation funds. The plan cannot be based on mere promise; there must be more concrete financial arrangement that cannot be derailed by a new minister or administration.
ASUU may also have to forgo full payment for the six months members were on strike in line with the ‘no-work-no-pay’ principle which is the global practice. It could negotiate for part. Both sides should quickly resolve the electronic payment platform issue. This is a matter of technology and should not be a sticking point.
Having woken up from his slumber, Buhari should lend the full weight of his office to the task of persuading the lecturers to resume work immediately and end the agony of students and their parents and guardians.
