ASUU protests hit Ile-Ife, Calabar, Osogbo, Ibadan. From seminar halls and boardrooms where talks seem to have collapsed, university teachers have moved their battle for better education to the streets. But, the police are stopping them from holding rallies and marches to convince the public that their four-month old action is right. In Calabar, the police yesterday stopped a planned protest by lecturers of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) and the Cross River University. But the lecturers addressed a rally on the UNICAL campus. University of Ibadan (UI) lecturers had a town hall meeting to sensitise the people to the strike. In Ile-Ife, Osun State, Obafemi Awolowo University lecturers marched on the streets, getting to the palace of the Ooni of Ife. They urged him to pravail on the government to implement the 2009 agreement it signed with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), without which the strike would continue. President Goodluck Jonathan said during last month’s Presidential Chat that the government cannot fully implement the agreement, especially the financial aspect, because doing so would force a shutdown of other departments. The Nigeria Labour Congrees (NLC), also yesterday, said although it would not call out workers on a solidarity strike with the lecturers, it would hold a meeting in Kaduna tomorrow to take a stand on the way forward. No fewer than 200 policemen, most of them heavily armed, stopped ASUU members from carrying out an enlightenment walk in Calabar. The walk, which was organised by the UNICAL and Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) branches of ASUU, was to take off from the UNICAL gate at 7am and go through some streets of Calabar, but the policemen ensured the teachers did not leave the campus The policemen said they were acting on “orders from above”. ASUU Chairman Dr James Okpiliya said: “Our union is law abiding. We wrote to the police and other security agencies on our intention of walking the streets in pursuance of our cause to put the records straight. “Many groups have been walking the streets, giving people the wrong impression about the situation. We just want to put the records straight. The police are telling us that they have orders from above not to let us walk the streets of Calabar. It is a shame. You can all see the hypocrisy of government. “They allowed youth and market women but they would not let us academics, peace loving people. We would remain resolute. No amount of provocation would stop us.” Okpiliya went on: “We are not on strike because of our salaries. We are fighting for our students and the terrible conditions of our university. Most of our science students do not know the difference between Bunsen burner and a stove. They don’t even know the chemicals. “The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) today has become a main funding source of our universities, but this is not to be so. TETFUND is only an intervention agency. Government has bailed out banks and even Nollywood, but not our universities. “The strike would continue as long as the government remains adamant. The President said after all, the strike in Ghana lasted two years, so that means this one can continue even up to five years. “It is a shame for the President to say the strike is political. The strike is not political. We are fighting for the good of our people. If there is anything political about this it is by him Jonathan. Let him implement the agreement and if the strike continues then he can say it is political. Any government that does not pay attention to the education sector is a dead government.” The Chairman of ASUU, CRUTECH branch, Dr Nsing Ogar, said the Federal Government must honour the agreement. A former president of ASUU and renowned author, Prof Festus Iyayi, said a government that does not respect agreements is calling for anarchy. He said: “This is the final struggle. Even if it takes 10 years, the students should know we are struggling on their behalf. A day would come when the police would join us. A day would come when we would not care whether the police would stop or not. The state has failed.” Another lecturer from UNICAL said: “If the strike is called off today, everybody will be worse off for it. People are not looking at the issues; they are just saying open the school, let the children graduate. Let them go to school. They are not bothered about the quality of education they are getting. In the future, whatever we say the government will never take us seriously.” OAU chapter Chairman Prof. Peter Akinola, who led the protest, urged the Federal Government to accede to ASUU’s demands to enable the union suspend the industrial action. Addressing residents at the palace of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Akinola said the education sector deserved a better deal. To continue....
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 13:50:17 +0000
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