The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared its intention to resume the strike that had been suspended since 2020, citing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration's glaring failure to address unresolved issues plaguing the nation’s public universities.
“Two years ago, ASUU took extensive measures to prevent a strike, issuing notices, sending emissaries—including religious and traditional leaders—and delivering repeated warnings. Unfortunately, these efforts were disregarded. As a result, ASUU was left with no choice but to resume the strike it had suspended in 2020. Today, we find ourselves in an almost identical situation.”
On Monday September 30, 2024 ASUU made a post on their Facebook page lamenting on the unresponsiveness of the federal government towards the education sector.
“The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has made several concerted efforts to dialogue with government officials, including the President, with a view to addressing the outstanding issues in the agreement and the various memoranda signed between the Union and the Federal Government.
Unfortunately, the Tinubu administration, like the Buhari administration, has been unyielding.”
Professor Abdulkadir Muhammad, ASUU Coordinator for the Kano Zone, sounded the alarm over the festering discord that has crippled the nation's higher education sector for the past four years. With two crippling strikes already under their belt, ASUU had pinned its hopes on the Tinubu administration to bring about swift solutions. But those hopes, now shattered, have left union members seething with frustration and a dwindling patience.
Despite repeated attempts by ASUU to engage President Tinubu and top government officials in dialogue to settle longstanding disputes from previous agreements, the administration has remained shockingly unresponsive—echoing the inaction of its predecessor.
Professor Muhammad warned that the government’s cold indifference to ASUU's legitimate demands had forced the union’s National Executive Council to convene an emergency meeting at the University of Ibadan in August 2024. After intense deliberations, the council issued a fiery 21-day ultimatum to the federal government, demanding immediate action.
ASUU’s key demands are nothing short of critical: the resolution of outstanding third-party deductions, revitalization funding for public universities, payment of the long-overdue Earned Academic Allowances, clearing promotion arrears dating back to 2016, the implementation of visitation panel reports, and the adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) software to replace IPPIS. The union is also calling for action on the reckless proliferation of universities and the implementation of a wage award for state university staff.
ASUU has now called on all Nigerians to rally behind them and put intense pressure on the government to honor its commitments. Professor Muhammad stressed that this administration still has a chance to avoid a catastrophic crisis, but only if it acts now to address these issues swiftly and decisively.
