Please FG, Please ASUU

The two-week warning strike declared by the Academic Staff Union of Universities has come and gone. Anything achieved? I observed three major achievements. The first, which is the most interesting, is humbling the Tinubu administration which flaunts ASUU not striking as an achievement to the unsuspecting public; a feat which is never an achievement. The government has been bragging that for two years, ASUU did not embark on strike and that it has no reason to do so. The government takes ASUU’s strike as one of the major indices to measure its success. 

Suddenly and thoughtlessly, the angry nephrologist-turned-minister of education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who should have no reason to be angry, immediately threatened to withhold salaries of ASUU members. Some university managements immediately put out a circular that attendance would be taken. There would be a role call. Like primary school pupils, professors are to shout “present sir” or  “present ma” or else the government will kill them with hunger. 

Nigerians, at last, have come to know that the government prevaricated. It did nothing about the demands of university lecturers. If at all it is argued that the government did something, what it did was to further impoverish the Nigerian lecturers. The APC government believes so much in its ability to kill with hunger the way it killed many lecturers when their eight-month salaries were withheld a few years ago. 

But surprisingly, to the disappointed government, ASUU refused to budge an inch. It insists on telling the world that: “all that is said to be well is actually not well.” Its members have come to the conclusion that there is no significant difference between being paid and not being paid. The salary is so ridiculous that any government that has a scintilla of shame would bury its head in shame for rewarding its academics with hunger which it euphemistically called salary.

The second achievement of the two-week warning strike, that was suspended on the tenth day, is bringing the government back to the negotiation table. Even though ASUU should be tired of negotiation, at least it needs to tell the world that it is always ready for dialogue. But there is always a limit to dialogue when dialogue is instrumentalized as a time-wasting subterfuge by a government that cannot be trusted and should not be trusted. Anyway, the strike was called off, we learnt, after some promises were made.

Here is my plea to the government. Fulfill your promises and be responsible. Do not make a promise you cannot fulfill or not ready to fulfill. Even if, out of sympathy for students, ASUU had allowed itself to be kidded in the past, it will not be susceptible to kidding anymore because its members are not kids and should not be treated like kids. 

One of the promises is that the government has agreed to pay part of the outstanding arrears owed to members of ASUU within the week. We heard this from Prof. Ibrahim Tajuddeen Suraj, Chairman of the union’s Bayero University Kano (BUK) chapter. He said: “The Federal Government has agreed to pay some of the arrears this week, but no date was mentioned for the rest.”

The third achievement is getting a promissory note from the government. But could this really be seen as achievement? Is promissory note anything to celebrate, to rely upon, or to count as making a headway? Every student of Nigerian politics knows that promissory notes by Nigerian government should be received with unreserved suspicion until the notes are actually lined in one’s pocket as naira notes.

Then, why did ASUU call of the strike? Is it because the government that should not be trusted promised to do this and that? This is how ASUU President Prof Chris Piwuna answered the question: “We have decided to give the government this window to show sincerity and commitment to resolving all outstanding issues. We expect concrete results within the next one month.”

But in its press conference where it announced calling off the industrial action, ASUU cautioned: “Should government fail to resolve the issues within the one-month window, ASUU reserves the right to resume the strike action without further notice.” 

This caveat should put the government on its toes. That is to say the strike is not yet over until it is over. I hope ASUU ensures that government representatives at the meeting sign the conditional agreement to suspend the strike which could be resumed without any notification if the government reneges on its promise as usual. After one month, the government might say it does not sign such agreement with ASUU. We should recall that Dr Tunji Alausa is still the Minister of Education! It may be said that no agree was signed.

ASUU should be informed that many of its members (lecturers) received the breaking news that it has called off the warning strike with shock. To the dismay of many, nothing concrete was achieved. The three achievements of the warning strike I listed above aren’t achievements to many. Given my nature, if I were ASUU Executive Council (headed by the Piwuna), I will not call off the strike. The issues have to be resolved once and for all as I argued in my column last week. ASUU should stop selling time to the government who is always willing to buy time in order to waste time.

Nevertheless, the position of ASUU, and the reason it gives for calling off the strike, is, to me, satisfactory. It is commendable, strategic, and wise. This is not just giving the government a window to fulfill its promise; it is like giving it all the windows to do the needful.

Therefore, my plea to ASUU is not to hesitate to resume the strike action—without further notice—as soon as it realizes it is about to be kidded, as usual, at the end of the one month window. The strike should be indefinite, total, and comprehensive. And ASUU should not allow its members to be taken to the slaughter slab anymore if it values their wellbeing. 

Once salary is stopped, members should begin to japa en masse. Those who cannot japa should resign and start selling whatever is sellable. Petty traders earn far better than Nigerian lecturers. No lecturer should put his or her neck again under the ruthless knife of the government for slaughter. 

I learnt the federal government is working earnestly to increase the salaries of our galant military men. Some say it is for the fear of coup since the threat of coup is the beginning of wisdom in a democratic regime. So, Nigerian Government too dey fear? Na wa o! 

Abdulkadir Salaudeen 

salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com