Stephen Ukandu with Agency Report
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that it may resume its suspended nationwide strike if its ongoing negotiations with the Federal Government fail to yield meaningful results before the expiration of its one-month ultimatum.
ASUU’s Kano Zonal Coordinator, Abdulkadir Muhammad, issued the warning on Monday in Kano during a news conference held after the zone’s meeting.
The union had in October suspended its warning strike and gave the Federal Government one month to address its demands, which revolve around improved welfare for lecturers and the provision of a conducive teaching and learning environment in public universities.
Muhammad lamented what he described as the government’s sluggish approach to renegotiating key agreements aimed at revitalising Nigeria’s university system.
The meeting had representatives from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria; Bayero University, Kano (BUK); Kaduna State University (KASU); Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology (ADUSTECH), Wudil; Federal University Dutse (FUD); Northwest University (NWU), Kano; and Sule Lamido University (SLUK), Kafin Hausa.
According to him, the union’s National Executive Council (NEC), which met on November 8 and 9 at Taraba State University, expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace of renegotiation between ASUU and the government, describing it as a major obstacle to concluding the process meaningfully.
He explained that ASUU suspended its strike in October as a gesture of goodwill and to create an enabling environment for constructive dialogue, but said the union’s optimism was gradually fading.
“However, our hope for a holistic and timely resolution of the issues is increasingly being dashed. It is unfortunate that some government functionaries employ different tactics to undermine the renegotiation process and misinform the public on the state of our engagements,” he said.
Muhammad added that the government had yet to demonstrate genuine commitment to improving lecturers’ welfare or addressing conditions that continue to fuel brain drain in the university system.
“What the government has offered will neither improve the working conditions of academics nor attract scholars from other countries to our universities,” he said, faulting claims by some officials that ASUU’s demands had been met.
He further urged the Federal Government to place a moratorium on the establishment of state universities, similar to what it had done with federal universities.
“Governors have cultivated the habit of establishing universities in their states without commitment to funding them,” he said.
