Rumbling in Ivory Tower

Emeka Ibemere

Serious rumbling of high magnitude is about to take place in Nigeria Universities and colleges of education if the plan of several academic unions worked out as they have planned it.

Not leaving any stone unturned in their quest to demand for the rights of those who work in academic environment, and better the lots of education in Nigeria, Education Rights Campaign (ERC), has supported the planned action of other Academic Unions in the educational sector  to go on strike.

It was learned that the Non Academic Staff of Universities (NASU), Senior Staff Academic of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) are also signaling their interests to join the three months strike action embarked by the ASUU.

Last July, SSANIP and ASUP suspended their strike actions that shut polytechnics nationwide for three months while the state branch of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) also embarked on strike action in a number of states across the country. But feelers from ASUP and SSANIP are that the groups are filling out again for another round of strike. 

ERC’s National Coordinator, Hassan Taiwo Soweto who signed the release said in their Press Release earlier in the week and captioned: COEASU 7-day warning strike further demonstrates the utter failure of government: Government must meet COEASU demands immediately, which was made available to Daily Signpost said the Group supports the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) to embark on a 7-day warning strike to compel the federal and state governments to meet its demands.

According to a secular dated September 11, 2013 and was made available to Daily Signpost by Education Rights Campaign (ERC), the union is demanding, among other things: the implementation of the agreement the federal government signed with it in 2010, the repositioning of infrastructure, teaching and learning conditions; as well as improvement in working conditions in all Federal and State-owned Colleges of education across the country.

“We in the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) support the demands and strike action of COEASU. This is just a 7-day warning strike. The ball is now in the court of the federal and state governments to avert a full blown strike”, ERC stated. “This is why the ERC calls on both the Federal and State governments to urgently meet the demands of the striking College of Education lecturers”.

According to the Education Rights Campaigners, the ongoing chain of industrial actions in the education sector in Nigeria has confirmed the anti-poor disposition of government towards public education at all levels in Nigeria.

The Group disclosed that the indifferent attitude of government towards the several ultimatums and demands of COEASU shows that a properly-funded, free and quality education is not a priority of the present government at Federal and state levels.

The Group therefore said they support the industrial actions embarked by the ASUU and COEASU to draw their demands home because according to them is what the government deserved.

“It is only actions like this by unions in the education sector who are endangered by the underfunding of education, that can call the attention of government towards the desires of Nigerians for free and quality education”, COEASU stated.

As COEASU is set to join ASUU with their warning strike, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), are still on the negotiating table with the government since three months and the strike seems to have no end with both parties not ready to shift grounds.

It will be recalled that ASUU has been on strike for nearly three months over non-implementation of a federal government agreement with the union. Investigation by Daily Newswatch gathered that the crisis in the education sector is going to continue for a long time to come with other groups warming up to join the string of strike actions.

 “It is very clear that these unions are not just being belligerent; instead they are being forced by the insincerity of government towards signed agreements to resort to strikes to demand their rights to better pay and working conditions”,

Hassan Taiwo Soweto, National Coordinator of ERC stated.

“We call on COEASU to adopt a programmatic method of prosecuting this strike by immediately declaring days of mass protest, and join forces with other unions in the education sector to save public education in Nigeria”, adding that

“This is even very necessary now since all the demands of the various unions in the education sector centre on the proper funding of education and its democratic management. Hence, COEASU must take this step, link up with other unions and set out joint program of actions”.

ERC urged Nigerian students to join in the mass rally in the struggle for the betterment of the education sector. According to the Group, colleges of education students must not maintain neutrality or seat on the fence during the strike.

Taiwo Soweto reminded the Nigerian Students that they are the most effected in this struggle and that was why they have to come out to join in the struggle for better education, adequate funding, autonomy of educational institutions and other demands of the stakeholders in the education sector.

“The students must support and join the struggle for adequate funding of public education and democratic running of schools. In fact Nigerian students are mostly at the receiving end of poor academic infrastructure and harsh learning conditions”, he said. “We in the ERC call on the Nigerian masses and working parents to support this ongoing strike, and call on government to meet the demands of all striking education workers”. 

Meanwhile, the Northern Nigeria Democratic Forum said it has decided to drag the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to the National Industrial Court to expose the illegality of the on-going strike embarked upon by the union.

The president of the forum, Elaigwu Apeh, told journalists that the current strike by ASUU, which has entered the third month, “is both illegal, an act of self-help, foolhardy, arrogance and anarchy.”

Apeh maintained that ASUU has failed to explore the legal procedures of giving notice, mediation, through a third party or through arbitration at the national industrial court, before going embarking on the current into strike.

 He stated: “We, members of the forum, have looked at the on-going strike by ASUU and found out that the best approach is to seek judicial interpretation and adjudication on the matter, because the strike itself from our own modest understanding of the law is illegal, an act of self-help, foolhardy arrogance and anarchy. ASUU has to call it off because it did not follow the legal procedures before embarking on the strike.”