By Dr A. Amoka
ASUU is on strike and on its 60th day. The issues at stake are not new. Still on the 2020 issues. Instead of the government being proactive in providing a solution to the issue, they have decided to stop the lecturers’ salaries and the president is at the villa possibly picking his teeth as in that viral picture while they are busy with 2023 elections APC strategies.
It is good that our students on this space are not idle but learning new words and grammar from Farooq Kperogi’s shots. The current shots on “Theocratic state capture; The Osinbajo presidential ambition and the pentecostal theocratic entryism” seem interesting. I am sure some of the striking lecturers are also learning something new about us.
Meanwhile, why do our politicians always find a way to postpone solutions to our problems? Lecturers are on strike over university funding and conditions of service and on an agreement that you signed willingly and deliberately refused to implement and the only thing that comes to your head is a salary stoppage. Are we this narrow-minded?
The train was bombed on track and passengers were kidnapped. The victims are still in captivity. It was later realized that more than half of the passengers on board did not get their tickets from NRC. Nobody was punished and the minister of transport that should take responsibility for the security of the train was running around the stadium in preparation to take over from Buhari.
The people in charge of the management of the train are getting paid. The person that bought the expensive booking software that still gives room to ticket racketeering still has his job and getting his salary. The people involved in the racketeering are still on the government payroll. The people in charge of the failed security architecture that has exposed all of us to kidnapping by bandits are still getting paid. The only person that lost his job was an Imam that dare to talk about it in Abuja.
The workers at Nigerian refineries that have not refined a drop of crude oil for years are getting paid fat salaries and allowances. What are they paid for? What is no work no pay? The staff of tens of unproductive and purposeless centres across the country are getting paid and traveling up and down. The retinue of unproductive political aides are getting paid their salary.
The political office holders are looting and getting paid for looting. Some NASS members are getting salaries and sitting allowances for sleeping on their seats. People are on the government payroll to ensure that indigenous products like UTAS never work
But the universities lecturers working under very harsh conditions and fighting for the survival of the public universities have their salaries withheld, an action that has never ended any strike. Nigeria is really an interesting country with amazing leaders and our concept of no-work-no-pay is very quite amazing.
Security has collapsed and we now sleep with one eye closed. You travel on the road with prayers as that’s all we have got for now. Even the political class is afraid of the Abuja-Kaduna road even with police escort. The public health system is sick. The president and the owners of Nigeria treat headaches abroad. The public primary and secondary systems have collapsed. The public university is near total collapse.
ASUU should consider the option of joining the likes of NMA to MILT, focus on members’ welfare, and let public universities to collapse too as they want it. By the time all the major public institutions have collapsed, we may get back to our senses and start rebuilding the country. I just hope that we’ll be able to bear the consequences of the effects.
Let’s just kill the remaining public institution.