South East State Universities Unending Strike Action

A meeting convened last weekend by governors of the south-eastern states to attempt a resolution of the strike embarked on by lecturers in state-owned universities in their region failed to reach an amicable resolution.  

It is now four months and eight days since lecturers in state-owned universities in Abia, Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States began their strike over ‘fair wages’.   The local chapters of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in these states began their strike on July 22 over refusal by the state governors to implement the new remuneration agreement the national executive of ASUU reached with the federal government.

Peter Obi, governor of Anambra State, and his fellow governors in the zone have argued that they were not part of the accord between the Federal Government and ASUU and as such, are not under any obligation to implement it. The lecturers have remained adamant in their demand, insisting they would not take anything less than what their counterparts in federal universities earn.  What happens in the unfolding imbroglio is being closely monitored by other local chapters of ASUU in other states of the federation.

The ripple effect of the action of the lecturers in southeastern states’ universities is already being felt in neighbouring states of Rivers, Cross River and Delta, where there are reports of threats by lecturers in those state universities to go on strike. To demonstrate their sympathy with their counterparts in the affected states, the national executive of ASUU, last month, embarked on a three-day warning strike from October 11 to 13.

Speaking on the motivation for the sympathy strike, Ukachukwu Awuzie, ASUU’s national president, lamented the position of the governors over what he described as the “legitimate demand of academic staff”.  As the debate lingers, students in the affected universities have already lost a semester to the strike and there seems to be no clue as to when they will return to school.  With December already with us, it is obvious that there is little they can do for the remaining part of this year.

The ongoing strike raises fundamental questions about public perception of the federal system and the general conduct of governance in the country.  It is important to remind the striking university lecturers that even in the United States where the federal system is well entrenched, state universities do not have the same salary scale with the federal ones, just like it will be foolhardy to expect all the states in the country to operate the same salary structure.

However, the grievance of the lecturers goes beyond agitation for salary review.  There are serious concerns about poor infrastructure.  But beyond that is the worry over the wasteful spending pattern of those in government and the bogus remuneration package that they appropriate to themselves, while others within the system are left to live on incomes that can barely take care of basic needs.  The recent revelation by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), that at least 25 per cent of the country’s annual income is used to fund the National Assembly, clearly illustrates this fact.  What moral justification does a Nigerian senator who earns more than his counterpart in the United States have to tell a university lecturer in the same country not to press for better pay? While we condemn the lecturers for abandoning their duty posts, it is important to admonish public officers who demand understanding from the Nigerian people generally and the lecturers in particular, to show example by being prudent in the management and use of public finance.