by – Alao Abiodun
“The Government has failed in its responsibility to meet With ASUU’s Demands” – Ade Adejumo, Zonal ASUU Coordinator, Ibadan
– “We’ve Tried so many other Means… We’ve Those Who are insensitive, irresponsible and irresponsive at the helm of affairs”
– Dr. Ademola Aremu, immediate ASUU National Treasurer and Quondam Chairman, ASUU University Of Ibadan
– “We are already on strike… There’s need for revitalization of Nigerian Universities” – Dr. Deji Omole, ASUU Chairman, University Of Ibadan
[Ibadan] – At the ASUU UI congress yesterday, 15th of August 2017, at Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan which had the gathering of notable lecturers and academic bigwigs in the university, the Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Ibadan chapter (ASUU UI) has joined the indefinite strike as pronounced by its national body over unresolved, contentious issues with the Federal Government and failure of the Federal Government to implement the terms of the agreement reached between the union and the government in 2009.
The areas in dispute in the current industrial action to include funding for the revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowances, the registration of the Nigerian Universities Pension Management Company and pension matters, fractionalisation and non-payment of salaries and the issue of universities staff schools.
In a conversation with news correspondents yesterday, The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) University of Ibadan Chapter, Dr Deji Omole stated emphatically that the school is on strike. in his own response, He said, “We are already on strike…, the government should pump the money into public universities as a matter of urgency, we are not asking for money, all we are saying is the money needed should be diverted for revitalization of Nigerian universities, invest public funds for public universities.”
In the response of the ASUU Zonal coordinator, Ibadan, Adé Adejumo, he stated categorically that “There are several issues, the federal government have been briefed, After several letters, notices and meetings all to no avail, ASUU was left with no alternatives than to embark on this struggle after due consultations with members across the nation”. When asked about how realistic is their demands due to the fact that Nigeria is gradually phasing out of recession, he asserted that “we need to stop attaching recession issues with the ongoing strike action, when did economic recession start, recession was nowhere near Nigeria in 2009 when government failed to implement, even in 2013 when there was a MOU, Government failed to implement its decision. There more politics to recession than what is on ground. What’s needed is the revival of the Educational sector, what will affect the masses, the government keeps mute, the government is quite irresponsibility, it should stop blaming recession.”
Dr. Ademola Aremu in his own response, immediate ASUU national treasurer, said “we’ve tried so many other means than strike which didn’t work, we are not strike mongers, time wasted is life wasted, we’ve people who are insensitive, irresponsible and insensitive at the helm of affairs. After the 2009 agreement, the government came up with MOU, set up a team to ascertain the veracity of ASUU claims and came up with a NEEDS assessment scheme which looked into the root and decay in universities in a bid to revamp Nigerian universities, ASUU case is just like when you have cancer if you don’t take care of it, it will become cancerous. When the government came on board, it has failed in its bid to meet with ASUU demand. We’ve a total decay, the university is a universal decay, just last week over huge sum of amount (6billion) was appropriated to the legislator to buy new vehicles even in the midst of government claims that there is no money.
As the strike action continues to linger on, students students have registered their displeasure over the current situation, they furthermore urged the Federal Government to meet with the demands of ASUU so as not to jeopardize or truncate their own academic activities.
