ASUU strike and NUT’s ridiculous threat

In apparent sympathy with the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has declared that it will not hesitate to shut down all primary and secondary schools nationwide if the Federal Government and the lecturers do not resolve the matter and stop the strike within two weeks from September 26, 2013. NUT president, Michael Olukoya, gave the ultimatum after the union’s meeting in Abuja.

It is ludicrous, to say the least, for the NUT to have contemplated this kind of untoward action especially at a time when well-meaning Nigerians are trying to resolve the impasse that began since July 1, this year. On what basis is the NUT threatening a sympathy strike? Does the teachers’ union have any locus standi in this matter by any yardstick? Is that the most responsible thing to do in the circumstance? Instead of this kind of kindergarten intrusion, the NUT should have kept its silence. It should not have embarrassed itself with this ridiculous interjection in the name of solidarity!
For more than three months now, public universities have been  involved in an industrial face-off with the Federal Government which it accused of non-implementation of agreements reached with ASUU in 2009. On the heels of that, the NUT is now threatening a shutdown of primary and secondary schools over the same matter in alleged support of their university counterparts. The NUT’s position amounts to intensification of the war of attrition between government and ASUU amid accusations and counter-accusations over which party is not playing by the rules.
We had expected the NUT to join in the ongoing efforts by responsible individuals, associations and agencies to resolve this  avoidable feud and get our youths back to school.  What is necessary now are interventions to halt the crisis in the university education sector so that  students will not be further exposed  to untoward activities out of idleness and boredom. Pouring gasoline on the raging fire of this disruption of university education is the worst contribution anyone can make to this dispute. The NUT should show maturity in this kind of situation—it is not a case for juvenile rashness and thoughtlessness. This is one development that could undermine the entirety of our educational strides in the past 53 years.
From all indications, it appears that the government has consistently demonstrated bad faith in the management and possible resolution of strikes by varsity teachers. Otherwise, the work stoppage would not have dragged for this long. We make this assertion based on government’s reputation of not honouring past accords with ASUU and other allied unions in the educational sector. We cannot understand why government enters into agreements with unions only to renege thereafter and plunge the country into this kind of academic disruption.
The following extract from ASUU following a parley with Vice-President Namadi Sambo last month, is instructive. The union noted: “After the meeting of Thursday, September 19, with Sambo, it is clear that the Federal Government is merely paying lip-service to the education sector and deceiving the Nigerian public on its commitment to the transformation agenda. The Nigerian people should not be deceived. How can there be a meaningful transformation when the education sector is neglected and practically taken over by private entrepreneurs, including top government functionaries, who are busy building private universities with stolen funds in and outside the country.”
It is not enough for the government to dismiss this strike as politically motivated. We are not unaware that it has released N100 billion for infrastructural uplift in universities and another N30 billion for lecturers’ outstanding allowances. This may as well be a scratch on the surface of the challenges as articulated by ASUU. Let both parties reach a meeting point through reasonable compromise and find a lasting solution to the malady plaguing the educational sector. Fire brigade or ad hoc measures beg the lingering question. There must be concrete resolutions on the way forward with the overall objective of repositioning this critical sector.
We, however, plead with ASUU not to insist on the full granting of all its demands by government. That may be difficult in the face of other contending needs in numerous sectors of the country. Let the first genuine step be taken this time and other redemptive actions could follow. It is equally in the interest of government that the country rediscovers its educational thrust by building functional and competitive human and material resources that will take Nigerian education to global standards. This is evidently missing and is naturally worsened by protracted strikes or threats by different unions in the sector from time to time as we now have it. Let the government demonstrate the necessary good faith and resolve the ASUU debacle.