The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to shut down critical infrastructure nationwide if the Federal Government fails to meet the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has again warned of a possible nationwide strike.
NANS Assistant General Secretary, Emmanuel Adejuwon, in an interview on Monday in Abuja, expressed deep concern over ASUU’s latest threat, vowing that the union would “mobilise Nigerian students for massive nationwide protests that will shut down roads, airports, government offices, and critical infrastructure.”
“Let it be on record: if this strike is not averted, we will bring the country to a standstill until the future of Nigerian students is secured. The time for games is over. The Federal Government must act now. ASUU must act responsibly. And Nigerian students will not sit idle while our future is wasted,” the NANS leader said.
Adejuwon emphasised that only the children of the masses are negatively impacted by the ASUU strike, saying, “This strike must not be allowed to happen.”
“It is obvious that strike actions only inflict pain and suffering on the children of ordinary Nigerians, the masses who struggle day and night to keep their children in school. The politicians and government officials whose failures created this crisis are not affected; their children are comfortably schooling abroad or in expensive private universities. If the children of these politicians were in our public institutions, this issue would have been resolved immediately.”
He accused the Federal Government of endless promises and insincerity, saying students had grown weary of “being victims of leadership irresponsibility.”
“We demand that the Federal Government, without delay, meet its obligations to ASUU and resolve all outstanding issues. Enough of the endless promises, excuses, and insincerity. Nigerian students are tired of being victims of leadership irresponsibility,” he declared.
While demanding federal government action, Adejuwon also urged ASUU to rethink its tactics.
“At the same time, we call on ASUU leadership to reconsider the weaponisation of strike as the only tool of engagement. Every strike action destroys our academic calendar, elongates our years in school, and diminishes the quality of our education. The lecturers must understand that their struggle, no matter how just, should not become a weapon against the same students they claim to fight for,” he said.
On Monday, ASUU branches across the country reiterated their demands, threatening another strike if the federal government did not act.
Prof. Biodun Olaniran, ASUU’s Zonal Coordinator, spoke at a news conference in Ibadan on Monday and asked the Federal Government to heed the recommendations of the Yayale Ahmed report, which was delivered in February, to avoid another strike.
He stated that the report included all disputed points between the union and the government and reflected a consensus after years of negotiations, but it had not been executed.
“The true test of government’s sincerity lies in how it handles the Yayale Ahmed report,” Olaniran said.
“Our members are frustrated with delay tactics and are no longer willing to be dragged along endlessly. Implementing this report is the surest way to restore confidence and industrial peace.”
Olaniran raised concerns about the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement on sustainable university funding, victimisation of union members in LASU, KSU, and FUTO, overdue 25-35% pay awards, unpaid third-party deductions, and over four years of unpaid promotion arrears.
He criticised the union’s continued use of the IPPIS platform for member payments, which it had previously rejected, and bemoaned the nonpayment of earned academic stipends.
“Many of our members cannot provide education for their wards and have turned to borrowing to meet obligations,” he said. “Poor funding, withheld salaries, non-payment of promotion arrears, and failure to mainstream earned academic allowances have worsened our plight and contributed to brain drain.”
On autonomy, Olaniran lamented over “the persistent erosion of university autonomy by the government with alarming impunity.”
“ASUU has strongly opposed the unlawful dissolution of governing councils in public universities, even where no misconduct has been reported and the councils had not completed their statutory tenure,” he added.
The briefing was attended by chairpersons from ASUU branches at UI, UNILORIN, LAUTECH, UNIOSUN, KWASU, and Emmanuel Alayande University of Education.
Prof. Al-Amin Abdullahi, the ASUU Zonal Coordinator, also spoke in Abuja, reiterating the union’s demand for the 2009 Agreement to be implemented and the release of three and a half months of withheld salary.
“There is a crisis affecting universities in Nigeria, and it is not just a problem for ASUU; it is a problem for the entire country,” Abdullahi said. “The purposeful mortgage of a nation’s future and the endangerment of generations yet to be born is the result of a nation’s disregard of education.”
He listed the ASUU’s demands to include payment of promotion arrears, release of third-party deductions, one year of arrears of the 25/35 per cent salary award, and adoption of UTAS as the university payment system.
“It is impossible for a nation to advance beyond the standard of its university system. Yet successive governments have systematically underfunded universities, leaving overcrowded classrooms, inadequately equipped laboratories, and uninhabitable hostels. This neglect has created unconducive learning environments and a decline in the global ranking of Nigerian universities,” Abdullahi warned.
