ASUU strike and parable of two elephants

Written by Fred Ibhawaegbele THE present strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff union of Universities (ASUU) has entered its fourth month. The popular adage “when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffer” has been playing out in the lives of millions of Nigerian in the universities since the return to democracy after many years of military incursion in governance in this country. A conservative account of the spates of strikes by ASSU since 1979 till now is a course for serious worry. When this writer made a rough calculation of the total number of months that our university students have had to stay away from classes due to incessant strikes by ASSU since the military left their grip on the democratic process of this great country of great potential, it covers over 36 calendar months. When one considers the trauma of the students affected by these acts of indiscretion on the part of the perpetrators, it will not be out of place to conclude that this country is bereft of true patriots. If one may ask, how has the mariads of strikes by ASUU solved the problems of the universities? The answer will be negative. The strikes have only worsened the situation and bastardised our university education to the extent that even our academics now send their children to near Ghanian universities and other foreign tertiary institutions for proper university education. If the question is put as to whether the Federal Government of Nigeria has done well in terms of tertiary educational development through proper funding, infrastructure and research programmes, the answer will be NO! The irony of it all is that it has not just started. The funding of education during the military was even worse than what it is now apart from the fact that there were fewer universities and it is also on record that our university administrators were more dedicated and patriotic than the present ones who are prone to the temptations of corruption. The present university administrators want to equate themselves with political appointees and other political office holders whose tenure in offices are not guaranteed. Even when their tenure in office is guaranteed, it is of great certainty that their power in office is transcient. My only worry is that ASSU only believes that the government does not respect the outcome of any dialogue reached at any point in time. If the question is put as to whether ASUU has done well as far as the management and administration of university education and handling of union matters, my answer will be NO. What has made ASUU to believe that only strikes can bring the government to its knees and accept its demands? In all circumstances, there is a limit to every thing under the earth. When a hand shake is beyond the elbow, it becomes a combat. In some combats, the targets could be disastrous and the innocent victims normally cut across board, with great and abnormal consequences. ASUU’s spate of strikes since the advent of democratic process from the 2nd to 4th Republic has done more harm than good to the entire system to the detriment of the country of which members of ASSU are a part. As much as I have not given pass mark to the Federal Government on the education sector in terms of funding, development, infrastructure and research programmes, so also ASUU should take the responsibility for the falling standard of University education. Their non-cooperation with the government through useful dialogue rather than embarking on incessant strikes. This is a serious ploy to destroy the whole tertiary education in the country. An article by an erudite professor and a Knight of the Catholic Church in the Evangelist Monthly Newspaper of October, 2013, Prof. Michael Ogugu, noted: “If industrial workers enforce their superior bargaining power by striking, which they can do due to their superior organisation, then agricultural workers can easily sink into the situation of a deprived class in society. It is up to the state to keep a balance among the various interests in society (“Octogesima Adveniens” 46). The state can, therefore, not allow any group to use strikes to improve its position at the expense of other peoples’ needs.” The purpose of quoting this is for the two combatants to shift ground on their disagreement in the interest of the suffering students, some of whom have lost their lives, and given the impending collapse of the whole education system and the economy of the country at large. The Federal Government should meet some of ASUU’s demands within the limit of its resources without creating problems for other sectors of the economy, while ASUU should realise that some of its demands do not require immediate implementation but long-term. Otherwise, they will fall into the category of those who abuse their power of strikes for selfish reasons to the detriment of the victims of such an abuse or abuses. Remember that any ASUU member can be the president of Nigeria. The greatest enemies of the political development in this country today are the academics regard politics as a “dirty game,” hence their failure to participate actively in politics. They are challenged to come out and make politics worth its definition for human and capital development