Fashola successfully commercialized
education in Lagos State University?
Who rents out their Boys Quaters to
students who are not connected
enough to get accommodation in the
Halls of residence at outrageous
prices (even though it’s illegal)?
Nigerians were once reputed to be the
happiest people in the world. This isn’t
because life is good, but because most
Nigerians make jokes of their problems.
Thus when students decided to toe this line
in the light of the ongoing ASUU strike, it
was not unprecedented. Jokes about ASUU
strike have been viral on social media.
Definitions of ASUU strikes (supposedly to
foreigners who inquired) include a self-
imposed extra leave for all lecturers; and
an annual festival during which university
students are not allowed to go to school.
The aim of this piece is neither to discuss
the necessity or frequency of strike action
nor to apportion blame. Rather, I write to
highlight the latent hypocrisy of ASUU, and
state my view about how lecturers have
exploited an unfortunate situation for their
gains, at the extent of the Nigerian
students.
Asides the ‘Police is Your Friend slogan’,
the progressives in PDP and APC and
lately, Governor Obi’s open letter to the
president, I wonder if there could be any
greater hypocrisy than ASUU’s claim to be
fighting to save the education sector from
collapse, in light of recent revelations.
Let me quickly state that I’m not against the
strike. As I wrote in a previous article, there
is a tendency for every employee whose
employers defaults on agreement to go on
strike. However, while we criticize our
politicians for shielding the truth from the
public, our lecturers have toed the same
line. ASUU never mentioned to students
and the public that their priority was
allowances, which is no crime anyway.
When medical doctors go on strike, it is
stated that they want improves salary and
working conditions. They never pretend to
want better hospital beds or new ward
clothing for patients. They are straight to
the point and no one has ever blamed
them for wanting better lives.
However, ASUU say they are after increased
funding for education. They say they are
protecting the future. They want generation
unborn to be grateful to them for
revitalizing the education sector, while still
getting better pay (in order words; they
want reward on earth and in the heavens).
While declaring the strike, ASUU President
said it was all about funding. They said
government has gone back on its promise
to inject 100 billion to Education. They even
claimed that the highest a lecturer will get
in the allowances they are demanding is
N12,500 per month, or N150,000 per
annum. Lots of people berated the
government and praised ASUU. That was
before Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala revealed that
Govt needs N92 billion to meet ASUU’s
demand.
As the Yoruba adage goes, the wind has
blown and the fowl’s anus is visible.
Government set up a committee and agreed
to invest N300 billion into Education with
N100 billion already approved.
This ecstasy made the committee chair,
Gov. Suswam say that the strike would be
called off in less than a week (After all,
money has been injected to address
infrastructural decay). However, rather than
end the crisis, it brought to the fore,
ASUU’s priority for going on strike; their
bogus allowances. ASUU’s claim of
requesting just N87 billion is laughable and
uncharitable to the students whose
academic progress have been halted due to
the impasse.
To ASUU, increased funding only means
infrastructure to aid their research and
promotion (better lecture rooms, air
conditioned offices, equipped laboratories
etc), more research grants (so that they
won’t have to spend their salary on
research), better pay (that some of them
hardly justify), outrageous extra or earned
allowances (that make you wonder what
exactly they are paid for in the first place).
Among other things, they have also insisted
that a high percentage of funds must be
reserved for universities, who only make up
less than 20% of or less of entire Nigerian
students in tertiary institutions (of course
to the detriment of polytechnics,
monotechnics and colleges of education)
In their selfishness, they neglected primary
and secondary education, forgetting that
the aforementioned will determine the
quality of intakes and graduates of the
universities. They forget that other tertiary
institutions are important (strengthening
them will reduce pressure on universities).
They are insensitive to the fact that their
pay demand (if paid in full) could trigger
other Unions to demand more outrageous
allowances (thus increasing recurrent
expenditure and reducing amount left for
federal capital expenditure).
But wait, there are many posers for ASUU,
the self-acclaimed defender of public
education who claim love students more
than themselves. Do they really care about
students? I doubt it. What is their official
position on the Oronsaye-led committee
report that proposed tuition for tertiary
institutions? Have they ever demanded
payment of bursaries and scholarships,
which most of them benefited from (with
N15 billion annually, each varsity student
will receive 10,000 and ASUU is demanding
N87 billion). Do local branches they take
official positions when school
managements make obnoxious policies?
Where was ASUU when Governor Fashola
successfully commercialized education in
Lagos State University? Who rents out their
boys quarters to students who are not
connected enough to get accommodation
in the halls of residence at outrageous
prices (even though it’s illegal)? How many
professors, earning over N500,000 can
dedicate 5% of their pay, about N300,000
or more to pay the fees of 10 students in
the University of Ibadan? Why have they
refused to be assessed by students as it is
been done in countries they make
reference to while demanding better pay.
Are they not the same people who
constitute committees that victimize
students?
Let me reiterate that I am not against a
Union fighting for its members. However,
they should be man enough to admit it
(instead of brainwashing students with a
saviour posture), and should be sensitive
enough to align it with the realities of the
day, particularly when humans are involved
(in this case, students).
While the strike is ongoing, final year law
students in University of Ibadan and
University of Lagos have written exams, in
order to meet up with Law School
admission. Is this a case of Animal Farm
where some animals are more equal than
the others? I didn’t say lecturers have
children in those classes. I wish ASUU and
the government can reach an agreement
soon, so that the children of the helpless
can progress.
————————-
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Toks-E
jossy4reall
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