Jude Nzennaya, Port Harcourt
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has lamented that after fifteen years, the agreement it reached with the Federal Government on the survival of public universities has remained unimplemented
The Port Harcourt Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Comrade Stanley Ogoun disclosed this recently while briefing the Press on the state of the matters concerning FG/ASUU agreement in Port Harcourt.
According to him, the agreement reached with the Federal Government since 2009 has been frustrated and jettisoned by successive governments. The Zonal Coordinator stressed that the issues raised then have not changed and still border on funding and conditions of service, payment of a living wage to lecturers, academic freedom, governance autonomy, as well as halting the proliferation of Universities without funding existing ones.
The ASUU Zonal Boss, emphasized that it is an open secret that no nation can develop more than its educational sector, calling on the Government to fund the universities, so that they can find solution to myriad of problems confronting the country.
ASUU was categorical that universities as a global brand have the capacity to take their nations out of the woods, which includes Nigeria. He reminded the Federal Government that teaching is just one aspect of the duties of lecturers and as such, withholding lecturers’ salaries because of strike does not make any sense, since the lecturers still indulge in research and community service during strikes.
Comrade Ogoun equally added that those students affected by the last strike have since graduated, so there was no reason why lecturers salaries should have been withheld in the first place.
Commenting on the current high cost of living in the country, Comrade Ogoun accused the Federal Government of pursuing the agenda of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, their development partners, which he said is aimed at destroying our aducational, thereby pauperizing the populace. He challenged the Federal Government to name one country that implemented IMF and World Bank policies and survived.
The ASUU Zonal Coordinator also took a swipe on the judiciary, which he accused of conspiring with the powers that be to deliver bias judgements against ASUU and to the detriment of the country.
He called on parents, students, media, well-meaning civil society organisations and even those in government who he said are pained by what is happening to speak up.
The idea, he said is to save Nigerian University System from collapse.
“Nigerians should hold Government accountable for any disruption in the Nigerian University System, because fight we must. The existential threat the public university system is facing must be resisted by all well-meaning Nigerians.
“Please note that the day the Nigerian public Universities collapse because of the constant onslaught by the evil forces, the Children of the average Nigerian will kiss goodbye to University Education,” Ogoun said.
Adding his voice to the subject matter, the National Investment Secretary of ASUU and immediate past Chairman of ASUU, University of Port Harcourt Branch, Dr. Austen Sado said Government has clearly shown that it is not ready to implement signed agreements.
He reiterated the need for Nigerians to speak up to save the situation.
“Government is under developing the Country by not implementing signed agreements. What is the result of subsidy removal to Nigerians,” Sado queried.
