ASUU President: Nigerian professors have had enough of FG’s unfulfilled agreements.
Since taking office as the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Osodeke has been a well-known voice in national conversation. In addition to discussing other urgent issues, Tunbosun Ogundare explains why ASUU will not be presenting a fresh agenda to the government in the upcoming year in this exclusive interview.
ASUU as a union, how will you reflect on the recently concluded year?
For practically all Nigerians, 2024 was a year of hardship. As academics, we gave the federal government every chance to settle all of our tense union disputes, but the government failed to take advantage of the opportunity. So, it was a year of missed opportunities for the government.
In what manner?
It is easy. We can only conclude as a union that the government did nothing concrete to alter the perception of our previous agreement. Unfortunately, we spent the entire year discussing the same topics that we had been discussing for years without progress. Nigerians should learn from this that the current government, like the previous one, does not take our problems seriously.
However, what agenda would ASUU propose for the 2025 government?
We do not need to request a new action from the government. Let’s just discuss the same agenda that has been in front of it for the past 18 months since it took power. This is to ensure that the education system functions effectively. It’s been hard enough for the industry. To solve the issues facing the industry, the government ought to take concrete action.
We can’t keep discussing the same topics over and over again with no progress. A responsive administration should have ample time to resolve our issues in 18 months. However, with this regime, that is not the case.
Has ASUU altered its mind, or is that the reason it threatened to go on strike?
We haven’t changed our minds, and since we were determined to go on strike, it wasn’t a threat. The only thing we want Nigerians to know and comprehend is that ASUU doesn’t merely announce a statewide strike; it does so only when it has been forced to the limit.
We have now issued a notice of strike and repeatedly extended it to allow the government more time and chance to resolve the problems so that we may all continue our university educations without interruption. The government, however, has not taken advantage of the chance. What, therefore, do Nigerians want ASUU to accomplish?
However, how does the federal government-appointed renegotiation committee that was established to investigate your complaints stand?
We have wrapped up our own meeting with the committee on behalf of the union. In order to sign a new agreement, we anticipate that the government representatives will return to us with the problems we brought up and the understanding we came to. But since we did it more than two weeks ago, we have not heard anything from them.
Has the renegotiation committee taken into account all of your concerns?
I will not answer yes or no. However, before signing a new deal, the administration must undoubtedly address certain outstanding difficulties. There are other examples, such as the 35% pay increase for civil personnel. We are currently one year behind on that. January 2023 to December 2023 was the time frame. Additionally, we owe three and a half months’ worth of salaries that were withheld during our most recent general strike in 2022. The government pledged to pay the remaining amount after only covering the first four months, but as of right now, it has not done so.
Similarly, we were informed that the 2024 budget included N50 billion for our Earned Academic Allowance, but as of right now, nothing has been made public.
We were also informed that N300 billion had been granted for the Revitalization Fund in the last budget, but as of right now, no funds have been made available. Is it not also unexpected that, in spite of the government’s claims to the contrary, we continue to receive payment on the IPPIS platform?
Are you implying that none of the aforementioned problems have been fixed?
That’s precisely what I mean. The government has taken no action against them. All of the claims made by that government are false.
What then is ASUU future course?
In early January, we will inform Nigerians about the future. Our members’ patience has already ran out. The only difference is that the leadership has been begging the government for more time. The government doesn’t seem to care that I even used myself as collateral.
The leadership of our congress had to beg for permission to utilize November and December to address our concerns when they gathered in November, but as of right now, no real action has been taken. In order to make a decision, we will meet again in January.
We are the ones who are formally deferring the action, so if the government does not act by early January, we will proceed with our plan. The general members have long supported industrial action as a solution to this problem.
What’s that plan?
Since we have used every legal option to prevent the strike without success, it is to proclaim a nationwide strike.
Is striking the last resort?
We are unaware of any alternative. As I already stated, we have fulfilled all of our obligations as a union. As a union, we have used every known strategy available to us. We need also be patient enough while the government is not concerned. What other option do we have other going on strike, which is what the administration is always waiting for? It is unfortunate that the Nigerian government consistently encourages strikes before addressing the needs of its employees. Our previous regimes have been like that. However, it is now up to Nigerians to demand that the government take the necessary action in early January. If not, we’ll proceed with our strike.
However, the government asserted that in the past year, it has invested up to N826.90 billion in the infrastructure of universities and other educational institutions. What are your thoughts about that?
We have not witnessed the impact of such a cited enormous sum of money in our universities. As I previously said, the government claimed to have included N300 billion in the 2024 budget as a revitalization fund; however, the funds have not yet been disbursed. Therefore, the majority of the government’s allegations are purely political and not grounded in reality.
Even though the Accountant-General of the Federation assured us during our meeting that the funds had been approved, a year later, no kobo has been issued to that effect, thus we have nothing left to cling onto with this government.
You gave the impression that there had been no noticeable advancements in education under this administration compared to the previous one?
Yes, in terms of our problems, there is really nothing that sets this government apart from the recent past. In December, the Tinubu administration was one year and seven months old. Can someone name a specific accomplishment of the administration in the field of education? By May, the administration will have served half of its term in office, and one of the former senators has informed Nigerians that the country’s government is only in place for three years. that the campaign for a new election often takes place in the final year of the four-year government. So, what has this government done differently in education sector from the one before it?
For instance, under Buhari’s leadership, our salary’ value ratio to the US dollar ranged from $500 to $600.However, it has already sharply decreased to around $200. How much did goods and services cost back then, and how much do they cost today? The solution is obvious to all of us.
What else has the current administration done to improve the lot of Nigerian employees, particularly lecturers? We are all in that predicament right now.
However, if ASUU goes on strike, your members may be subject to the “no work, no pay” clause.
There is no such thing as no work, no pay for lecturers because our students need to finish all of their coursework before they can move on to another class or graduate, and we have sacrificed our time and comfort to make up for the lost time during our last strike. For instance, we have completed all of the work we did not complete during our last strike. No lecturer has taken annual leave in the last two years; we have been working even during the holiday season.
How do you explain government action on all of these?
The answer is straightforward: those in positions of authority don’t have children or close relatives that attend Nigerian public schools; instead, they send their kids to study abroad. This is because, for example, if the children of the president, senators, governors, and ministers attend Nigerian public schools, they won’t take education lightly and won’t treat university professors and the education sector in general the way they do. The government allocated only 7.2 percent of the 2025 budget for education, compared to up to 15% of the budget for education in most other African nations.
It is only at the state level such as Oyo State and a few others that the governors offered education better allocation and also taking care of their workers.
But the education sector has the third greatest share of the 2025 National Budget following after security and infrastructural development.
Yes, it is true, but education should be given topmost priority in the national budget. When we fund education well and people access quality education, the effect will be visible in other sectors of the economy, including security. We are where we are now because we neglected our education sector. If we use all our money on security and we don’t get our education sector right, we will make no significant progress as a country.
However, according to President Bola Tinubu, the NELFUND has already given up to N34 billion in loans to over 300,000 students. Do you not think that this is a positive development for his administration?
It’s not a plus at all. You know why? When you give students a loan, you are burdening them and not helping them. If the government can brag about giving over N90 billion free to people for pilgrimages, why can’t it do the same for students? What should be more important to the nation—giving students grants to study or allowing people to travel to Mecca and Jerusalem at the expense of the government? It’s just a case of mispriority. And you gave Nigerian students, who will be future leaders, only N34 billion, and you’re proud of it? It basically means that something is wrong with our nation.
How?
Giving loans to students in a country where fresh graduates are not sure of getting jobs, and you are giving free money to people who are already rich to perform pilgrimages that are not compulsory is saying something about our thinking as a country. This is because all of us, including those in government, today, enjoyed free education particularly in the then Western Region and were also given bursary award to take care of ourselves.
Now, the same set of people who enjoyed so much from government during their times are now believing that giving loans to students is now an answer. It is absolutely not. So, what government should be doing is to give students grants that will come as assistance and not a burden as it is with the loan.
Is that why ASUU raised objection to government’s plan to replace TETFUND by 2030?
It is unthinkable that government is proposing to close down TETFUND for NELFUND. TETFUND has been the only formidable agency of government that is working for the interest of children from poor homes, who attend public tertiary institutions. We all know the impact of the agency in all our public tertiary schools-be it universities, polytechnics or colleges of education. TETFUND is the one providing major infrastructural facilities, sponsoring research and development activities and also capacity-building programmes for our tertiary schools. So, Nigerians should not allow government to tamper with TETFUND.
But government at the centre has been pleading with Nigerians for more patience as its various policies are in the interest of the masses…
I don’t believe that. What I’m seeing in this government is about raising money for the rich to continue to enjoy themselves.
Why did you think so?
Today, all the governors have so much money and they are putting very little into the system. They have excess money. They can increase their own allowances while telling Nigerians that they cannot afford to increase the salaries of workers who actually work for the money. Before now, each state government shared something around N400 billion to N500 billion from federal allocation but today, each of them has nothing less than N1.7 trillion.
That is more than triple of what they were getting before and yet no tangible things to show for the huge difference in the life of people in their various states.
So, what is expected is that as their income triples, they should also triple workers’ salaries to conform with the economic realities. Now, the costs of food items are skyrocketing every other day in the market. People can hardly afford basic needs again. The price of rice is high and even that of onion and so forth.
Does it mean you go to market yourself?
Well, let me tell you what happened recently. I went to buy Suya (roasted meat) and to my surprise the seller didn’t put onion and I asked him why, he told me that he couldn’t afford onion. That is a simple illustration of our state of economy. Government needs to have a rethink and make life better for ordinary Nigerians.
But can we hope for a better 2025?
I don’t see any hope with the way our political leaders are running the affairs of the country. except they change to do the right thing.
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