The protracted ASUU strike is straining nerves and the lecturers themselves don't seem to be immuned as Clement Idoko reports Professor Festus Iyayi who died at 66 is not the only victim of the protracted strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Many more lives than anyone can probably account for have been lost to the strike action under circumstances that where certainly avoidable. Many may however remain unsung because they were yet on their way to attaining their dreams. For them, those dreams, may remain unrealised-for ever. Especially for young minds like final year student of Computer Science at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Kadiene Azubuike Philips. According to Sanya Boluwatife, a student of the school, Azubuike died "in a ghastly accident which occurred along Oru-Ijebu road on the 16th of November 2013." The late student was said to be the Red cross coordinator in the university and also the technical band coordinator in his fellowship. Okonkwo Emmanuel, another young mind who was on his was to joining the ranks of the Afe Babalolas and Itse Sagays of this world also died during the strike action. Oyeniyi Femi, a final year student of Political Science of the same university was also lost during this period. The question on the lips of several Nigerians is when the lecturers will go back to class so that the students can be kept busy, unlike presently when they wander about, restlessly. That is why most stakeholders have hailed the perceived cracks in the ranks of the lecturers as evidenced by the on-going crisis in the University of Lagos Chapter of the Union. Education Tribune gathered that while majority of the lecturers want the over four months old strike called off, the national leadership and zonal chairmen of the union have continued to maintain an adamant posture. Some of the universities have threatened to pull out of the strike because they no longer see the justification for elongating the industrial action when the Federal Government has shown some commitment towards the implementation of the contentious 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement. Most of the lecturers, Education Tribune can authoritatively report are unhappy with the leadership of ASUU for refusing to suspend the strike despite the personal intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan. President Jonathan had held a marathon meeting with the leadership of ASUU about two weeks, where he made some offers to them. ASUU was expected to take the offers to their members for deliberation with the hope that it would placate them into resuming academic activities immediately. However, congresses of the 61 chapters of the union were held to deliberate on the issues and vote for or against the calling off of the strike. The initial National Executive Council (NEC) meeting that was supposed to hold to collate the views of members was aborted by the sudden death of Professor Festus Iyayi on 12th November, in an auto crash on his way to Abuja en route Kano for the meeting. Iyayi died in an auto accident involving the convoy of the Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, and an ASUU vehicle on his way to Kano to attend the NEC meeting penultimate week. The outcome of the union's congresses, as would be expected, indicated that there was a disagreement on the need to call off the strike. While some ASUU chapters were ready to suspend the strike in the light of the President's intervention, others insisted that they would continue with the strike as result of what they described as their "distrust" of the government. For instance, at the University of Abuja, there is a sharp division among the ASUU members with some clamouring that they resume work forthwith. Education Tribune gathered that while majority of the lecturers wanted the strike called off, a factional leader of the Union, Mr. Clement Chup and few of his executive members are insisting that the strike should continue. A lecturer at the University who spoke on condition of anonymity said: "I can tell you that majority of us want this strike called off even before now. We have made our point and government has responded accordingly. I think what is important for us to do is to suspend the strike and continue with dialogue with the Governing Councils that are already in place in all the universities. "We have children that are also at home like their brothers and sisters all over the country that are affected by the strike action and government has also withheld our salaries. I can't blame the government for this because I have not seen any justification for us to remain at home. Some of us have tried to let our leaders know that there is nowhere in the world that agreements are implemented 100%," one of the UniAbuja lecturers said. Chup, had earlier warned that any plans by the Federal Government to forcefully reopen the nation's universities would be met with stiff resistance. In a statement he signed and made available to newsmen in Abuja, Mr Chup, said any form of authoritarian approach in the resolution of the crisis would not work. Towing a similar path as Chup, the Asuu Chairman in Ebonyi State University, Prof. Ndubuisi Idenyi had also dissociated the union from the decision of the University authorities to reopen the school for academic activities. A move to reopen the Adekunle Ajasin university, Akungba, Ondo State on Monday, November 25, 2013 had also been frustrated by the leadership of the local ASUU who chose that day for a meeting on campus. Obviously, the willing members are scared of being labelled dissidents and apologists and have stayed away from the congresses where critical decisions are taken. Most observers and former supporters of the striking lecturers are however already blaming the Lecturers for also being partly responsible for the rot they now complain about in the education sector. Most parents like Chief Afe Babalola are however worried about the time loss in terms of the human resource development that is being truncated by the strike action and the lives of the youths which is at a standstill. In a recent opinion article, he lamented: "It may not take more than a simple resolution to commence and suspend a strike. Yet, long after the meetings and protest marches, long after the speeches and long drawn debates, the effects of strikes will continue to be felt not only be the students, but also by individual educational institutions and the entire educational system itself. The idle mind is said to be the workshop of the devil. This saying is perhaps mostly true of students who are often at very short notices asked to return home on account of one strike or the other. Instances abound in which students who otherwise ought to have been fully engaged with their studies were made to spend months on end at home with absolutely nothing to do. It is instructive to note that the current strike action by ASUU is well over four months old. Faced with so much time many students easily drift towards crime and other anti-social activities." Many hope that the UNILAG crisis will see the end of the strike action coupled with the directive to open by the Governing Councils of federal universities on Tuesday. The ASUU faction at UNILAG insisted that the closure of Nigerian universities by the lecturers must end this week. A Leader of the faction, Dr Adeyemi Daramola, a lecturer in the Department of English, Faculty of Arts accused the body of assuming an oracular posture on the strike. He said: "The position of ASUU has not demonstrated original function of its rules which says "reports on agreement from the union universities' branches should be collated and announced. ASUU-NEC has assumed an oracular posture by its very poor communication to members, government and the Nigerian society. "The target of ASUU is to call off the strike by mid-January of 2014 which is no longer a rumour in the domain of its members. We have postponed other meetings of this pressure version of UNILAG ASUU to discuss issues and shall call a new one if ASUU-NEC fails to suspend the strike before the end of the week. If necessary, we shall take all legitimate steps to ensure that normalcy is restored to all the Nigerian universities as soon as possible, as the group would not accept the rumour of a resumption date fixed for January, 2014. About two universities' academic calendar have been wasted on strike, including lecturers' four months salaries lost." However, the main body of ASUU after its emergency NEC meeting during the weekend insisted that the strike would be on until grey areas are sorted out. They gave three fresh demands including payment of the four months salaries owed during the strike, immediate implementation of the N1.2 trillion offered by the government to public universities, starting with the release of N100 billion this year and the balance of N1.1 trillion to be spread over five years from 2014. During the referendum conducted by various universities on the offers by Jonathan, 194 members voted for the strike to continue while 80 voted for a suspension. After hours of debate by those for and against the continuation of the strike, it was obvious that majority felt that the meeting with the president did not achieve much. Those who spoke in favour of the strike to continue wondered why the strike should be called off on the basis of pleas and verbal promises by the president, when the government is allegedly reputed for not to honoring agreements. They were said to have argued that the suffering by students and members in the last four months would be a waste if something concrete did not come out of the strike to improve the situation in universities. It was further gathered that those for the suspension of the strike spoke passionately on the need to consider the impact of the strike on students and the gesture from President Jonathan, who met personally with ASUU leaders and pleaded with them to suspend the strike. A few of them were quoted as saying it was better to suspend the strike and find other ways of pursuing their demands so as not to lose the support of the people.
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