ASUU Strikes Hitting Existing Wound

By COMRADE USMAN YUSUF

History is more than the path left by the past; it influences the present and can shape the future. By 1st October, 2020 Nigeria is 60 years old in independence and all citizens hope to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

Education is what should be the first priority amongst the dividends. To my greatest dismay of all, we have come a long way in striving to be the giant of Africa or so we are called.

But what happened to us considering where we are and where we are heading to still remain a mirage. I meant in educational sector, at our occasion of 60 years of independence, we still lead the index of the nations with the longest academic strikes in the academic history. In academic pursuance, this will be a very high bar or beginning of funny jokes looking at our age as a political independent nation.

Today, Nigeria has witnessed the 18th strike from 1988 to 2020, the most prolonged of them were; 1996 six months, 2003 six months and the current one. Progressively as a nation if we can still experience the same academic setback of 1996 and 2003, then do we make any progress considering these years gaps and why these issues with similar patterns are still yet to be addressed by the relevant authorities?

Our nation’s budgets have showcased progressive decline for educational sector. Let’s take for example from 2006 the budget allocation for education sector was 10.43 percent; in 2013, 10.21 percent; in 2019, 7.02 percent; in 2020, 6.7 per cent. It is pertinent to note that in 2020 budget, the top three ministries are Works and Housing, Transportation and the Ministry of Niger Delta. iI is saddening to see that a region’s budget surpasses that of the entire country’s educational sector. This implies that over the years our educational sector has been given a lame attention progressively.

However, talking about the ASUU industrial actions hitting the existing wounds, as l
mentioned earlier, we are in a situation whereby strike is no longer a threat to the Federal Government to make them understand the urgent need to address the academic challenges in our country.

The whole scenario is ending up at destroying the future of poor Nigerians whom cannot afford to go to schools abroad nor School at private institutions.
It’s high time for ASUU to come up with pragmatic approach to avoid endangering the lives of the vulnerable Nigerians.

They have to employ impulsive approaches with commitment for ASUU to follow not necessarily shutting down the academic domain because it doesn’t pay any longer. The elites and the men in power have sent their children oversees and to private institutions already. So the hsut downs are only damaging the futures of those that they don’t care for. But believe me organising national protests perhaps in collaboration with students bodies, civil society organisations and NGOs can really serve as collapsing and attracting the full attention of the government to address academic challenges in Nigeria sooner than later.

ASUU needs to understand this popular saying that “Education is the key to success, but some of our leaders changed the padlock.” Most of the people in power today are then the sons and daughters of nobody but they got to where they are today due to dividends of quality education that they enjoyed from our past leaders, then why now the denial; why the inhuman treatment on education now?

The pending crisis between ASUU and the Federal Government is the cumulative 1.1 trillion naira which ASUU demands from the Federal Government and if this demand is met the future of Nigerian students is safe as ASSU will readily call off its strike action and the universities will resume academic activities. Now since the FG said it will save N1 trillion from its recent fuel subsidy removal, we suggest that the proceeds be channeled into bringing to an end the persistent ASSU strike.

It is important to note that being consistently away from schools on strikes can also trigger us into accruing the most fatal demages in our society such as;

1.Inconsistent academic calendar system resulting from the industrial actions. This will attract extra costs to parents as their children are unnecessarily delayed from graduating.
2. Hinderance to international students that serve as major sources of income to even some developed countries like US and UK largely from Africa. Nigeria is among African countries that hugely travel abroad for studies leaving the domestic Schools collapsing.

3. Increase in crime and societal immorality by youths due to total lack of confidence in the country’s education system. Lot of university students now drop out at will to join dangerous armed and other illicit groups thereby further plunging the country into deeper insecurity every day.

4. Poor students’ performance in empirical results. This is mostly noted as students’ performance are on the drop due to the long period of brain inactivity in academics and to a greater extent affecting the class of degrees they pass out with.

5. Drop in the rankings of our institutional functionality and standard. Now Nigerian universities are rated very low and below others in the institutions ranking system of the world and African. It may interest you to know that Nigeria being the giant of Africa and number one richest in the continent by the GDP and primary export worth $302.256 billion as of 2020, but we are number 40 in ranking ( UNILAG was mentioned) in terms of academics on the continent.

The question one might ask is what is wrong with us and where have we gone wrong with our available resources and the manpower we have at our disposal? Until these drastic mistakes are corrected, Nigeria will continue to lag behind.

DOLE writes from ABU Zaria. comradedole1230@gmail.com (08036804312）