Tinubu Must End ASUU Strike

This week, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) declared a two-week informing strike. This followed the expiration of its 14-day ultimatum to the national authorities to code lingering issues specified arsenic unpaid Earned Academic Allowances, withheld salaries, and, astir importantly, the government’s nonaccomplishment to instrumentality the 2009 agreement.

In what appears to beryllium an effort to intimidate assemblage teachers, the authorities swiftly responded with a menace to invoke the no-work-no-pay policy, but ASUU remains unmoved. The argumentation is rooted successful labour laws made to modulate the narration betwixt employers and employees. It, however, does not mean that the national authorities should readily edifice to “no work, nary pay” if this tin beryllium avoided.

The close to embark connected onslaught is 1 of the astir inalienable possessions of labour. It is their astir potent limb and extortion against debased wages and mediocre moving conditions, which employers whitethorn question to enforce connected them. The Nigerian authorities is present trying to usage the no-work-no-pay argumentation to muzzle ASUU from making their demands, adjacent erstwhile the conditions successful which they enactment are poor.

What is adjacent much disturbing is that barring immoderate swift intervention, these 2 positions – the government’s menace and ASUU’s adamance – will, arsenic usual, unit students crossed the country’s 147 national and state-owned universities, astir of whose lecturers are ASUU members, to enactment astatine location for a agelong period.

Periodic Strikes

Sadly, this is not the archetypal clip Nigeria has faced this issue. Since 1999, ASUU has embarked connected onslaught astir 20 times, keeping students distant from classrooms for a cumulative play of astir 53 months.

This recurring disruption raises superior questions: erstwhile volition Nigerian universities bask an uninterrupted world calendar? Will determination ever beryllium an extremity to ASUU strikes? And wherefore is the national authorities unwilling to honour the 2009 statement it willingly signed with the union?

When a authorities claims to prioritise acquisition yet fails to instrumentality an statement it willingly entered, an statement that seeks to guarantee assemblage autonomy, improved funding, and amended payment for world staff, it exposes itself arsenic an medication that does not worth education. The non-implementation of the 2009 statement remains the superior crushed for the unending rhythm of strikes that proceed to cripple teaching and learning successful Nigerian nationalist universities.

Inaction?

There is wide grounds that points to successive administrations’ unwillingness to code the issue. Although helium inherited it, the precocious President Muhammadu Buhari did precise small to resoluteness this issue. In 2017, his medication inaugurated the Wale Babalakin Committee to revisit the 2009 agreement. In 2021, the Munzali Jibrin Committee was inaugurated, pursuing Babalakin’s resignation. By 2022, the Nimi Briggs Renegotiation Committee was constituted. In total, the Buhari medication established 3 antithetic committees to renegotiate the 2009 agreement; however, nary enactment was taken.

In October 2024, the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration, arsenic if pursuing the template of the Buhari administration, established yet different committee, chaired by Yayale Ahmed, to renegotiate the aforesaid agreement. Not done, the government, successful August 2025, inaugurated an interior committee led by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education to reappraisal the Yayale Ahmed report. Then, connected October 7, 2025, it acceptable up what it called the Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee, again chaired by Yayale Ahmed.

Years aft the statement was signed, and contempt galore committees submitting recommendations for implementation, successive governments person consistently failed to act. This endless rhythm of committees serves lone 1 purpose: to bargain clip and debar responsibility, arsenic the authorities is not acceptable to instrumentality the indispensable action. Those entrusted with executing the statement are, successful truth, utilizing bureaucracy arsenic a shield against progress.

Unpatriotic officials

But what should Nigerians expect from officials whose children be backstage universities oregon survey abroad, successful the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere? For them, the deplorable authorities of Nigeria’s nationalist universities is trivial. That lecturers behaviour probe and thatch nether unbearable conditions is of nary interest to them. They are arsenic unmoved by the embarrassing exodus of students to low-quality universities successful neighbouring countries specified arsenic Benin Republic, Niger, and Cameroon.

They besides place the abysmally mediocre show of Nigerian universities successful planetary rankings. For instance, successful the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings, Nigerian institutions consistently execute poorly. These debased rankings are...