The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has urged the Federal and State Governments to urgently address lingering issues in Nigeria’s public universities to avert another industrial crisis.
ASUU President, Dr Christopher Piwuna, made the call in a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja.
Piwuna said the union was frustrated by poor welfare, inadequate funding, and the failure of government to honour signed agreements, including the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement.
He was reacting to a recent statement by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who assured that strikes would no longer occur in Nigerian universities through dialogue and fulfilment of union demands.
“While ASUU shares his optimism about dialogue, government needs to go beyond words and act on our outstanding issues,” Piwuna said.
He lamented the difficult working conditions of lecturers, many of whom, he said, teach “on empty stomachs” and conduct research without access to electronic journals, books, chemicals, or reagents.
Piwuna added that lecturers also face unpaid utility bills, children’s school fees, and transportation challenges, while being blamed for producing “unemployable graduates.”
The union accused government officials at both federal and state levels of disregarding the principles of the 2009 Agreement and implementing only selected aspects, describing such actions as “platitudes and tokenism.”
Piwuna also criticised political interference in the appointment of vice-chancellors and condemned treating academics seeking better work environments as “volunteers” under initiatives like the “Diaspora Bridge.”
He appealed to leaders and stakeholders to intervene to prevent another strike.
“Nigerian academics are tired of governments’ excuses, which have only left them with a long list of Memoranda of Understanding and Memoranda of Action from 2013 to 2020, while renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement has dragged for over eight years. The time to act is now,” Piwuna said.
