The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the University of Lagos has warned that it may consider a strike if the government does not address its demands following weeks of nationwide protests.
ASUU chapters have been protesting nationwide and writing open letters to the Federal Government, urging it to fulfill agreements made with the union.
On Thursday, ASUU-UNILAG members and students protested against the government’s failure to meet nine key demands. The students supported their lecturers by displaying placards with messages such as “Education is life; proper funding of university education is non-negotiable,” “Lecturers too want an earthly reward for teaching all professionals,” and “Stop establishing universities you cannot fund.”
The protesters marched from Julius Berger Hall on campus to the university gate and back to the ASUU-UNILAG secretariat.
During the protest, ASUU-UNILAG chairman, Prof. Kayode Adebayo, emphasized that the protests aim to raise public awareness about the government’s insensitivity and silence on the union’s demands.
“We are sensitizing the public to prevail on the government so that we don’t go on strike. If nothing significant comes out after all these protests, we will decide to go on strike at our next NEC meeting. They should not force our union to take that route. We love our classrooms. We love our students. It is the Nigerian government that is striking against you, not ASUU,” he stated.
Former ASUU-UNILAG chairman, Dr. Dele Ashiru, also spoke, highlighting that Nigerian lecturers are the least paid and alleging plans to hand over public universities to foreign investors.
“We are gathered here to call on the Federal Government to rethink its insensitivity, lacklustre, and bankrupt policies in Nigeria’s education system. No nation can rise above its level of education system. Successive governments in Nigeria have continued to pay lip service to the development of education. For the past 15 years, the agreement we signed with the government, which is supposed to be renewed every year, has never been revisited. We have been receiving the same salary since 2009. Despite several appeals and consultations to get the government to renegotiate, the government turned deaf ears,” he said.
Protesting lecturers and students sang solidarity songs and distributed handbills listing their nine demands. These demands include:
– Conclusion of the renegotiation of the FGN/ASUU agreement
– Agreement based on Nimi Briggs Committee’s draft Agreement of 2021
– Release of withheld three-and-half months salaries due to the 2022 strike action
– Release of unpaid salaries of staff on sabbatical, part-time, and adjunct appointments affected by the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System
– Release of outstanding third-party deductions such as check-off dues and cooperative contributions
– Funding for revitalization of public universities (partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government’s Budget)
– Earned Academic Allowances (partly captured in the 2023 Federal Government’s Budget)
– Addressing the proliferation of universities by Federal and State Governments
– Implementation of the reports of visitation panels to universities
– Adoption of the University Transparency and Accountability Solutions in place of IPPIS
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