The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan Chapter, on Tuesday lamented that the hardship being faced by public university workers is becoming unbearable.
The chairman of the chapter, Prof. Ayoola Akinwole, stated this in a release to mark the 64th independence anniversary of Nigeria entitled “Nigeria At 64; A State In Need Of Deliverance From The Leadership Of Perpetual Have-Nots.”
The ASUU chairman stated that the Union has been very understanding by issuing an ultimatum to the government while the federal government has been lackadaisical in its response, adding that another 14-day ultimatum is about to end within which the government should meet the demands of the union to preserve the relative peace on public university campuses in the country.
“Many lecturers ran away to other countries; many died as a result of financial debility; those who cannot run away got into debt just to survive while many resigned to take another job in the private sector,” he said.
The ASUU boss stated that “in the sixty-four years of Nigeria’s independent existence, education and the state of the nation are both in a downward spiral, owing to the dwindling fortunes in the quality of politicians steering the ship of the country’s government.” Political leaders and holders of executive positions, whether at local government, state, or federal levels, have always answered requests from workers, especially in the education sector (and the Nigerian citizens), with “the government has not the resources to meet the demands of the unions.”
While noting that Nigeria’s problems are due to the major neglect of its educational sector, Professor Akinwole maintained that without the necessary tools, improved welfare packages for the lecturers, and a conducive work environment, the university system will not be able to deliver on its mandates.
The ASUU chairman admonished President Tinubu “to desist from singing the unpleasant and baseless “have-nots” song but brace up to resolve the outstanding issues pertaining to university education as raised by ASUU, inject funds into the education sector for revitalization, improve the remuneration of academics, and address the economic crisis in the country.”
He warned that if the trend of hardships facing Nigerians is not halted, it will culminate in multidimensional insecurity, adding that it is “more worrisome that amidst these economic woes of the people, the government is channeling its expenditure to areas like purchasing a new presidential jet and presidential Cadillac Escalade.”
“The quality of life of ordinary Nigerians has precipitously declined, and the gap between the haves and the have-nots is daily expanding; the rich continue to get stupendously richer while the poor are absolutely getting poorer. The so-called middle class has since been wiped off by the increasing weight of dependents in a society that prioritizes “palliatives” over and above the empowerment of the poor. So, while the masses suffocate from the adverse consequences of the neoliberal socio-economic policies of the government, members of the ruling class revel in questionable wealth that makes nonsense of the anti-corruption crusade. If the trend is not arrested, part of the imploding consequences will be that Nigerians can no longer eat well or sleep well, and the pervasive poverty will have entrenched a multidimensional insecurity with the associated consequences. While the Nigerian masses are in multi-dimensional poverty, the government spends billions on cars for Senators and House of Representatives members, awarding white elephant projects; a fraction of these questionable expenditures could solve most of the problems in the education sector and lay the foundation for Nigeria’s economic growth.”
