The strike embarked upon by
the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) since July 01, 2013 will
probably go down in history as the best ever well-organized action of the
union.
Although the action lasted longer than many Nigerians
envisaged, it is to the credit of ASUU that it was fully ready for business.
The union had in fact made it clear that only a complete resolution of the
issues at stake would bring the strike to an end. Hence, it was also ready for
any eventuality. Consequently, when the government introduced the ‘no work, no
pay’ rule into the game, the union responded by resorting to providing other
welfare strategies such as distributing food items, giving out soft loans and
cash advances to members to cope with the effects of the policy.
In all, ASUU lived up to its billing, making it
obvious that it had sufficient courage and a unity of direction to pursue its
goal. Thus, the Dr. Nasir Fagge led National Executive of the union deserves to
be commended for its tenacity-a posture which the government itself was to
eventually describe as their “patriotic role and commitment towards ensuring
that our universities are well-funded, resourced and run like their
counterparts in other parts of the world”. However, ASUU alone cannot grab all
the credit. Also to be praised, are the interests groups which for the first time
in history mobilized for the cause of the teachers, ample public sympathy and
support.
What looked like the first impetus came from the
National Parent Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), which condemned the
government for reneging on an agreement it willingly entered into with ASUU,
adding that what the lecturers were asking for was not “new and out of place’’
The position of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) was that it would “not
hesitate to shut down the education system in the country, if the government
failed to fulfil or honour the agreement it entered into with the lecturers”.
On its part, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) threatened to stop
distribution of petroleum products across the country if the Federal Government
failed to implement the agreement reached with ASUU. Their counterparts at the
National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) gave the Federal Government
seven days to resolve the ASUU strike or face a total shutdown of electricity
facilities in the country. All these were averted, but they cannot be wished
away by anyone seeking to identify what helped the strike to last longer than
usual.
The role which the posture of government officials
played in prolonging the strike can also not be overlooked. It was them again
who created room for another breakdown of negotiations after the President had
himself personally intervened to resolve the crisis. What happened was that
instead of documenting the issues faithfully as discussed and agreed upon with
the President to ease implementation, they as usual, introduced their
characteristic double-speak otherwise known as ‘mago- mago’ which led to a
fresh out-break of hostilities. This confirmed the old allegation that advisers
and small men in the corridors of power in a bid to display loyalty to the
political masters always fuel the gap between government and the people. If the
death of foremost unionist, Festus Iyayi on a journey to attend a meeting of
the national executive of ASUU on the subject worsened the situation, the threat
of the Minister of Education to the university teachers to resume work on
December 04, 2013 or be sacked, completely disorganized the nation.
However, after five months and 10 days of an annual
cat and rat game, government and ASUU finally signed an agreement to end the
strike a few days ago. With that, Nigerians can now look forward with hope to
an end to the ugly incidents of disruption to the nation’s yearly academic
calendar. It is a major achievement for which President Goodluck Jonathan deserves
to take credit. Indeed, critics ought to take special note of the role of the
President in the subject because so many of ‘us’ were in the forefront in
condemning government for the strike. As a matter of fact some expressed
disappointment that as an academic, the President ought not to have left his
old colleagues in the cold. In fairness, these views ignored the personal
commitment of Jonathan to the resolution of the crisis such as his meeting with
ASUU for over 13 hours. In the past, strikes involving just one union never
attracted the personal attention of the head of government; they were usually
left to government delegations.
Thus, this article must record and commend the pivotal
role of the President.
It was indeed magnanimous that the Presidency allowed
itself to be seen as the side that blinked first in the crisis. That, to our
mind, is not a sign of weakness but rather a fatherly act and a sign of wisdom.
In earnest, the decision to display the N200billion cheque which certainly
allayed the fears of ASUU and gave hope to the teeming student population that
resolution was near; the way the President played down the threat by the
education minister; the shifting of the resumption deadline in honour of the
late Professor Iyayi who was due for burial and the unending official appeals
to calm frayed nerves, are all quite commendable. It is to be hoped that future
leaders would emulate this right from the onset without first bringing the
education sector to a halt for a while, before acting.
Of course, it would have been a
different ball game if President Jonathan had borrowed a leaf from the Ebonyi
State Governor, Martin Elechi who accused ASUU of sabotage and called for its
disbandment. It is surprising that some such autocratic governors who should have
held office during the military era occupying critical positions in our
democracy. The handling of the outgoing ASUU crisis is one subject where the
government of President Goodluck Jonathan showed commendable maturity. It
should hold on to the strategy when more unions raise industrial disputes. It
is superior to being insensitive.
Daily
Trust
No comments:
Post a Comment