By MOHAMMED MOMOH

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Abuja

Forty-three federal and 48 state universities in Nigeria have been shut following another strike by lecturers to force the government to fully implement a 2009 agreement on their welfare and provide amenities.

The strike, which started on Monday, is the 16th since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999, and more than 1.8 million students have been affected.

The lecturers, who are members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), went on strike over the government’s insistence on paying the salaries of all staff in federal universities through a platform that handles pay for all federal government workers.

ASUU national president Emmanuel Osodeke said the union’s national executive committee (NEC) had endorsed the industrial action.

The union said it had not received any formal invitation for another round of talks on the contentious issues since its last meeting with the federal government in December 2021.

Prof Osodeke said NEC resolved to embark on “a four-week-roll-over total and comprehensive strike action”.

Renegotiated agreement

He complained that the renegotiated 2009 agreement between the government and ASUU had not been submitted for finalisation for more than nine months.

Prof Osodeke said that due to the government’s lackadaisical attitude, the lecturers had no choice but to declare the strike.

"Contrary to the views canvassed in some quarters, our union loathes to disrupt academic activities on our campuses. We love our students and respect their parents and guardians. We are also not insensitive to the genuine concerns about a stable academic calendar in public universities,” he said.

Thirteen years after the agreement was signed, Prof Osodeke said, its provisions have only been partially implemented while the conditions of service, funding and autonomy of universities continue to be eroded in all campuses.

Strike condemned

The strike has drawn condemnation, with some state chapters holding a contrary opinion and students resolving to embark on a showdown with the union.

Anambra state information officer C. Don Adinuba said the state’s lecturers had no business going on strike.

“There is no reason for the state varsity lecturers to go on strike. If they want to do [so], there is a procedure provided for by the Industrial Act in Nigeria. They must give a notice, among other requirements, to their employers, but they have not done that with us,” he said.

“ASUU had an agreement with their employers and they felt the Federal Government is not meeting their demands, hence they are embarking on a strike. But there is no agreement we have had with our lecturers and we have no issue with them. So, they have no business going on strike.”

The Benue state commissioner for education Sarwuan Tarmongo stated: “We don’t have any problem with our university lecturers that will make them join the strike because we don’t joke with them (both academic and non-academic staff).

“They have been placed on first-line charge and we wouldn’t advise that they join the national strike of ASUU.”

No cause to join strike

The Delta state government also said lecturers at its university had no cause to join the ASUU strike.

“Though I have not heard from the university, there is no way the state government will support them joining the strike,” said Prof Patrick Muoboghare, the state commissioner for higher education. 

Meanwhile, the federal government said it had not received any notification from ASUU over the strike.

Mr Charles Akpan, a spokesperson for the ministry of labour, said on Monday that they had not received any notification of a strike.

The president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Mr Asefon, on Sunday expressed “great disappointment” at the “comprehensive and total” four-week strike declared by ASUU.

Mr Asefon slammed the federal government and the ASUU leadership for failure to resolve their issues amicably without resorting to a strike.

He also said Nigerian students will stage a nationwide protest to demonstrate their dissatisfaction.

“I passionately appeal to all student leaders, NANS structures and organs across the nation to mobilise to our national non-elective congress on February 17 where far-reaching decisions shall be made on our collective response to this blatant lack of patriotism, human feelings, and feelings for the collective future of education in Nigeria,” he said.

“Our decisions shall be decisive, collective, and irreversible until the strike is called off. We shall fight this impunity and recklessness without any consideration other than an immediate end to this strike.”