Private Universities Should Join ASUU—NLC President

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, has called for private universities to form unions.

He urged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to start talks about unionizing these institutions.

Ajaero made these comments on Sunday during The Toyin Falola Interviews Series, which was titled “A conversation with the President of ASUU, Professor Christopher Piwuna.”

The online discussion featured the ASUU President and other academic professionals who addressed the ongoing ASUU strikes and discussed ways to stabilize the higher education system.

The NLC President stressed that the “continuous harassment” faced by ASUU and its members must end. He questioned why the government signed an agreement in 2009 but has not implemented it.

He also noted that ASUU was partly created to weaken the NLC. The government insisted that the academic union should not be connected to the NLC since it is a senior staff organization. The NLC successfully challenged that classification.

He argued that private universities were set up to undermine ASUU and highlighted the importance of pursuing their unionization.

According to a report by Daily Trust, private universities have avoided the recurring ASUU strikes because there is no ASUU or any academic union in those schools.

He urged university unions to work together to strengthen their demands to the government.

ASUU President, Prof. Piwuna, stated that universities can only achieve the necessary independence if staff members have enough resources to do their jobs.

He noted that, contrary to some beliefs, ASUU members are not acting in self-interest and continue to face intimidation from the government.

Professor Francis Egbokhare pointed out an “ideological problem” between the government and ASUU. He observed that while ASUU aims to improve the higher education system by advocating for better welfare and resources for teaching and research, the government sees unions in a different light.

He concluded that there needs to be a shared ideological perspective to ensure that Nigerian students do not have to suffer.