There is fear across Nigeria over the fate of the nation’s economy as several labor unions threaten to join the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU).
The Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC), Association of Nigerian
Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial
Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), among others, independently made their plans to begin a
solidarity strike for ASUU known to newsmen earlier this week.
While the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) plan to begin their industrial action by next week (July 26 and 27), the general secretary to the Association
of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP), Comrade Abdulrasaq Saidu told newsmen
that the organization will join the solidarity strike and shut down all the nation’s
airlines and 32 airports if president Muhammadu Buhari does not end the ongoing
ASUU strike.
.jpg "ASUU Strike Snippet")
Mr. Saidu decried how Nigerian students are using 8 years to
read a course that was meant for 4 years. He also stated that the current strike
by the ASUU may lead to an increase in crime and social vices as the students
who are not hopeless may end up engaging in unsocial activities and that it is
a shame and a drop-down for the nation’s academic reputation.
“Not only the students were suffering but parents and
society, the poor economy has also affected every home in Nigeria”. “Education
remains the bedrock of any country aspiring for greatness and the ASUU strike
will eventually lead to a regrettable situation in the future if not well-handled”,
Comrade Saidu added.
In the other reports, the president of the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE), Anthony Abakpa, also stated the organization’s commitment to end the ongoing strike by the academic union.
NUBIFIE through its general secretary expressed its readiness to begin its national protest in a jointly signed statement by the leaders of the organization. The organization would shut down all the financial institutions across Nigeria to express their dissatisfaction with the ASUU strike.
Earlier, the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, through its president, Prince Williams Akporeha and General Secretary, Afolabi Olawale, and other Labor Unions and several organizations across the nation had already expressed their solidarity with ASUU and are ready to join the planned strike by the NLC.
Highlight of the ASUU Strike
ASUU had been on strike since February 14, 2022, resulting in the closure of all academic activities in federal government-owned universities across Nigeria.
The academic strike began due to the failure of the Nigerian government
to abide by the terms of the re-negotiated 2009 MoU as signed with ASUU on May
2022. The federal government had also failed to respect several agreements mediated by labor unions to end the ASUU strike.
Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), Senior Association of Universities Teaching Hospital Research Institutes and Allied Institutions (SAUTHRIAI), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) had also been on strike for months with ASUU.
The major demands and the cause of the strike by ASUU include
funding for the revitalization of the nation’s public universities, earning academic staff allowances, the implementation of the judgment of the National
Industrial Court, the Issue of the University Staff Schools, Pension related
issues, among others.
The planned strike by the labor
unions and other organizations may bring the already fragile Nigerian economy
to its knees. While many Nigerians are afraid of the economic damage that may
result from the planned strike, it is believed that the combined effort by the
labor unions will force the federal government to bring an end to the 5 months
old ASUU strike for academic activities to begin across the nation’s
universities.
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