From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja
The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Federal University,FUL, Lokoja, Kogi State, Prof.M .S Audu has challenged ASSU to be innovative, proactive and sensible in its approach to critical issues that could result to strike action.
He said the only lasting solution to the incessant strikes by Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, is for the union to change the tactics it has been using for over 40 years without much tangible result.
He stated this on Wednesday in Lokoja as the Guest Speaker in his paper, entitled,”FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA (FGN)-ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF UNIVERSITIES (ASUU) IMBROGLIO: INTERROGATING THE ISSUES AND THE WAY FORWARD” to mark the 50th birthday of the Rector, Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, Dr. Salisu Ogbo Usman.
According to him, ASUU should inject some dynamism and new ideas in her approaches to issues of the state of the universities and their welfare.
” For the past 45 years, ASUU has adopted the same strategy of agitation for welfare of its members and the state of the universities and the nation.
“In the last 23 years, ASUU has embarked on strike action 16 times. It can be safely said that since the return to democracy in 1999, public universities have been shut down for four years. It takes a normal Bachelor degree programme four years to complete.
The guest speaker also advised the federal government to always honour agreement with ASUU, noting that the last strike by the union came up because the federal government failed to honour the agreement it signed with the union in 2009, on how to improve funding of public universities in the country.
Prof.Audu recalled that “the government entered into an understanding with the union to ameliorate the situation in 2009.
“It sets up the NEEDS Assessment Committee that came up with the report that federal government would require the sum of 1.3 Trillion Naira to fix the public universities as documented in the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding.
“The 1.3 trillion naira was to be released in annual tranches of N200 billion in 2013 and N220 billion each year for the period 2014 to 2018.
“The government only showed commitment to the MoU by releasing only N200 billion in 2014, N20 billion in 2019 and N30 billion in 2021. This development shows that the government has repudiated the MoU of 2013.
Governor Yahaya Bello, represented by his Chief of Staff, Pharm Abdulkareem Asuku, described Dr. Usman as an “excellent leader” given his antecedent as a product of a humble beginning.
The Governor commended the Rector for his giant strides cutting across academic and infrastructural growth.
He enjoined other state owned tertiary education heads to emulate the examplary leadership of Dr. Salisu Usman Ogbo in ensuring delivery of quality education.