From DELE OGUNYEMI, Ibadan
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan Chapter has inaugurated a strike monitoring committee to ensure effective prosecution of the strike.
This comes as the strike embarked on by the Union following what the union called unfaithful implementation of the 2009 agreements and the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) further grounded academic activities on the campus.
Headed by Professor Gbenga Olujide, the committee was empowered to ensure that no member of the union engages in any sabotage or does anything that can jeopardize the collective interests of the Union while the strike lasts.
Making the announcement at a well attended congress of the Union, ASUU Chairman of UI, Dr Deji Omole stated that ASUU was pushed to the wall before taking the painful decision to embark on the strike after giving government sufficient time to attend to her demands without positive results.
According to Omole, all examinations in the university stand suspended as well as all other academic activities including delivery of inaugural lecture.
Omole told the Congress that the federal government and the ruling class are waging war against the poor masses by deliberately under-funding public universities where the hope of future lies for their future.
Omole who stated that it was sad that after six months strike in 2013, only 200billion has been released saying till date the federal is owing federal universities with N880billion intervention fund as well as N128billion earned academic allowances.
He said that rather than funding existing universities, the federal was more interested in turning the establishment of public universities to constituency projects adding that the Buhari-led government has been dealing with ASUU deceitfully.
According to Omole, there is no how Nigeria universities can compete with other universities that are well funded and equipped with modern facilities as well as have a well motivated and well paid workforce.
“How can we say change begins with me when those leading us are not leading by examples or what can we say when the Daughter of the President graduated abroad and that of the Senate President too. Even the Goodluck Jonathan administration did better in funds allocated to education. This APC government has allocated six percent to all cadres of education from the primary, secondary and tertiary education levels. That explains why Nigeria is not developing since no nation can ever grow more than quality of education of that country. We are prepared to suffer to secure the future of our children. All of us will suffer during this strike but we believe that nothing good comes easily.”