The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is an educational body in Nigeria saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the affairs of all tertiary institutions across the country both the undergraduates in these institutions and the lecturers that teach these students. The body was established in 1978 and since then it has concerned itself with the welfare of tertiary education in the country. But when this body that was set up by the government to serve the citizens are being punished by the same people that set them up then by all means there is a cause for alarm.
Payment
of a worker's salary at the end of the month is non-negotiable and even the
Bible supports the payment of a worker's wages when it is due. The Academic
Staff Union of Universities has since not been paid their salaries which they
have honestly worked for for a long period of time. The government should be
aware that these people that make up this educational body are human beings and
they have responsibilities as most of them are bread winners in their families and
if they are not being paid their salaries, how on earth would they fend for
their families.
ASUU has since embarked on a
nationwide strike that has spanned for almost a year in a bid to fight for
their right which is the payment of the salaries that they are being owed by
the government. In as much as the measure that they took to convey their
grievances to the government is legal and one of the ways to make the
government listen to them, it has had adverse effects on the young undergraduates
who are forced to stay at home when they are supposed to be in school.
In as much as what the government
is doing to ASUU is heartless and not encouraging in any way, the strike that ASUU
embarked on has adverse effects.
To
begin with, the strike embarked on by ASUU is legal and expected, but it has
given the young undergraduates who have been forced to stay at home due to the
strike to engage in nefarious activities which they would ordinarily have not
been involved in if they were in school. To explain, the recent protest across
the country against police brutality was majorly spearheaded by the youths in
the country. The protest was expected and understandable and everyone has a right
to protest but the issue is about the activities that were involved in the
protest which were not palatable at all for most of the protesters.
The
protest was obviously hijacked by hoodlums to cause nuisance in the country and
a lot of young people who may have been undergraduates lost their lives and
this is very sad. The protest was such that no sane parent would want their
child to be a part of, not because it is wrong to protest, but because of the
activities in the protest. Many young people knew that some days during the
protest was not a safe time to carry placards about, but they went out any way
and some of them were either arrested or found dead.
In addition, the ASUU strike is
understandable and seems fair because of the actions of the government towards
them but it has greatly reduced the enthusiasm and aspiration to learn in the
minds of a lot of young undergraduates across the country. To explain, due to
the lingering strike by ASUU in a bid to get their hard earned money from the
government, a lot of young undergraduates have lost interest either partially
or totally in education. They have been involved in other activities in a bid
to kill time while they await the resumption of school and some of these
activities either partially or totally have drawn them from their inspiration
and readiness to learn which they once had and was fired up by their always
attending classes and being in the four walls of a school.
Furthermore, the war between the
government and ASUU as they fight for their right in every way would extend the
years that an undergraduate would normally spend in the university. To explain,
due to the lingering strike, it is inevitable that a year would be added to
every undergraduate especially those in their final year to complete their
courses. If a course was to last for four years or five years for an
undergraduate, then he or she would be looking forward to an additional year to
finish and graduate. The strike by ASUU has lingered for almost a year and this
would affect the normal education calendar and postpone the graduation of many
students in the university.
In conclusion, every worker deserves his pay as at when due and the government should listen and go ahead in immediately implementing a plan to pay the salaries that has been owed the university lecturers and workers who are on the pay roll of the government. Meanwhile, the action by ASUU to communicate their grievances to the government which is embarking on a strike should be revisited in a bid to consider the average Nigerian student who has been at home for almost a year doing nothing.
The strike is legal and understandable but
we should be encouraged to take actions that would make both parties involved
to be happy at the end of the day. The government should throw away their pride
or whatever is stopping then from listening to ASUU all these while and pay
them their salaries. Meanwhile, ASUU should remember that there are students
that are ready to learn and are praying to go back to school to acquire
knowledge which they would use later to effect changes in the country and draft
out a plan to include the students’ welfare in their activities of moving
forward.
God Bless
the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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