Emulate Niger by Paying Lecturers Eight Months Salaries, ASUU Tells FG

Laleye Dipo in Minna

The federal government has been told to emulate the Niger State Government by paying the salaries of university lecturers being withheld as a result of their participating in the last Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) strike.

ASUU branch in Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University (IBBU), Lapai, Niger State, said that university lecturers are not labourers that should be paid daily wages.

The IBBU Chairman of ASSU, Dr. Kudu Dangana, said that the Niger State Government realised the importance of university teachers and education and paid its members their salaries even during the strike before asking the federal government to toe similar line.

Dangana told the government that prorata payment of salaries is not known to law in the university community, adding that university lecturers work even when the institutions are on vacation.

He said the position of government has the tendency to destroy the nations tertiary institutions like what happened to public health institutions where medical doctors exited the country in their numbers.

“The government should not kill public tertiary institutions like it killed public primary and post primary institutions,” Dangana declared.

The ASUU chairman therefore asked government to implement all the decisions it willfully entered into with the union in the interest of the nations’ children whose parents cannot afford to send their children outside the country for studies.

Kudu asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack the Minister of Education, Mr. Adamu Adamu, and that of Labour and Productivity Chief, Mr. Chris Ngige for poor management of the crisis between the government and the union especially when Adamu confessed that he has failed as a minister.

Also addressing the protesters the North Central Zone Coordinator of ASUU, Mr. Salau Mohammed Lawal, said that the struggle by members of the union “is to ensure quality education for our children through proper and adequate funding of universities.”

Lawal regretted that Nigerian elites are refusing to appreciate the fight by ASUU believing that it was a personal struggle before urging the elites to rise to save public tertiary institutions from total collapse.

Some of the placards displayed by the protesters read: “ASUU stands for improved funding of public universities,” “ASUU says no to prorata salarues,” “Poor funding of universities must stop” and “No casualisation of intellectuals.”

As the face-off between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities continues unabated, the IBBU has warned that a mass exodus of lecturers from public universities in the country is imminent.

 Dangana further warned that if lecturers were allowed to exit universities like medical doctors did from the nation’s public health facilities the country will face a serious deterioration in its education system.

The type of graduates that would be leaving our universities would be second class or third class graduates who will not be able to compete with their peers from other institutions across the globe.

“The government should not kill public tertiary institutions like it killed public primary and post primary institutions,” he declared.

 The ASUU chairman, therefore, asked government to implement all the decisions it willfully entered into with the union in the interest of the nation’s children whose parents cannot afford to send their children outside the country for studies.

Kudu asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack the Minister of Education, Mr. Adamu Adamu and that of Labour and Productivity Dr. Chris Ngige for poor management of the crisis between the government and the union especially when Adamu confessed that he has failed as a minister.

Dangana, however, commended the Niger State Government for paying ASUU members in their salaries and other allowances during the 8 month strike saying that their protest is in solidarity with our colleagues who have been denied their rights.

Also addressing the protesters, the North Central Zone Coordinator of ASUU, Mr. Salau Mohammed Lawal, said that the struggle by members of the union “is to ensure quality education for our children through proper and adequate funding of universities.”

Lawal regretted that Nigerian elites are refusing to appreciate the fight by ASUU believing that it is a personal struggle before urging the elites to rise to save public tertiary institutions from total collapse.

Some of the placards displayed by the protesters reads: “ASUU stands for improved funding of public universities,” “ASUU says no to prorata salaries,” “Poor funding of universities must stop” and “No casualisation of intellectuals.”