How Strike Actions Between Nigerian Government And Versity Lecturers Cost Us Lifetime Opportunities –  Students

Hammad Abdulrasheed, a final year student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University in Sokoto, was delighted in February when he received an email from an organization where he had applied for his dream job after years of internship.
He had received a Google Meet invitation for an interview.
But his happiness was short-lived as he soon realized that the organization could not hire him because he was still a student.
“But when I was asked where I did my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program, I told them I still had a few semesters to do on campus. This response surprised the organization because they believed I must be a graduate since it is indicated in my CV that I entered university in 2017, and this is 2022. That is five years, which is enough to finish a degree program.
“I would have graduated but due to the incessant ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) strike, I am still in 400-Level,” Hammad said.
He continued: “I was told they would have been happy to employ me but they want to employ a worker who is ready to change his present location permanently and it is not possible to employ a student for that position. That was how I lost the opportunity which was supposed to be a life-changer.”
Babatunde Qadri, a University of Ilorin student, also told Sahara Reporters how he missed out on a fantastic opportunity. He was selected for a full-fledged scholarship to study for a master’s degree in Vietnam.
After taking his final exams in February, a week before university lecturers went on strike, he anticipated his declaration of result to be available by April.
“The strike did not allow me to get my credentials because anytime I contacted the students’ affairs division, their response was always that the lecturers that would even make provide my scripts were on strike.
“This made me lose this great opportunity. And for the past three months, since I took my terminal examination, I have been stagnant. We have not been mobilized for the NYSC program and our results have not been released to allow us to look for better opportunities,” Babatunde added.
The Nigerian Association of University Teachers was founded in 1965 and was succeeded by ASUU in 1978. It is the umbrella organization for professors in Nigeria’s federal and state institutions.
This union has been on strike for a long time because the Nigerian government has refused to honor agreements it has signed. Its goal is to press the government to meet its demands, but it frequently fails to do so because of the country’s numerous challenges.
I Lost NNPC/Total Scholarship Due To ASUU Strike
Like Hammad and Qadri, Abdulrahman Abdulganiy’s story is no exception. Abdulrahman was fortunate to be shortlisted for the NNPC/Total Scholarship in 2020 but it was while universities were closed due to the lingering ASUU strike following its face-off with the Nigerian government.
Abdulganiy had returned to Kwara, his home state, over 700 km away from Sokoto.
He said, “I was in my state due to the strike and the examination in Sokoto, where my school is. I could not travel to Sokoto at the time.
“The story would have been different if there was no strike. At least I would be in school to take the test. It is painful that I lost the chance to receive close to N150,000 annually.”
A student of Bayero University Kano (BUK), Mustapha Babalola also blamed the incessant strike for costing him many opportunities that would have helped him in excelling in his academic and career pursuit.
“Being an undergraduate since 2017 has been one of the reasons I was not chosen for most of the opportunities I have applied for.
“We are talking about scholarships, training programs that I would have been eligible to enjoy. My graduation is even long overdue but the strike is keeping me at home longer than expected,” Mustapha said.
Students Take Over The Streets To Seek An End The Strike
On Tuesday, hundreds of students of the University of Ilorin (Unilorin) in Kwara State, staged a peaceful protest to express their sadness and disappointment over the ongoing strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The university students, however, said they would take the protest to major places in the city like the Government House, roads linking Ilorin Airport, the State House of Assembly, Federal Secretariat, police headquarters, and the Directorate of State Security Service (SSS- also known as Department of State Services, DSS), among other places, if the meeting between the lecturers’ union and the Nigerian government officials failed to resolve the lingering crisis in the country’s university educational system this week.
A similar step was taken by students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, on Thursday morning, as they blocked the Ife-Ibadan Expressway to protest against the lingering industrial action.
Nigerian Government Is The Problem’ – ASUU President
ASUU has said there is no going back on its decision to continue with its ongoing strike following the Nigerian Government’s failure to honor the 2009 agreement.
ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osedeke, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Osedeke said the union took the ‘difficult decision’ after exhausting all avenues available to amicably settle the matter with the government.
“Let me give you an example because this is where we are getting it wrong, when the airline operators said they were going to stop the flights, the Senate and House of Representatives quickly stepped in.
“This is because they are affected; they quickly rushed in and addressed the problem. Why would they not resolve that of the education sector that is affecting the children of the poor and the ordinary people?
“If the government is willing to resolve the issues affecting Nigerians, then there would be no need to go on strike.
“The problem is the will of the government to resolve issues,” he said.
Nigerian Government, ASUU Resume Negotiation
The government has scheduled a meeting with ASUU executives for Thursday. It is a meeting targeted to find a lasting solution to the 86-day-old lingering strike action by Nigerian university lecturers.
This was disclosed in a letter from the office of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, which was addressed to various stakeholders on Wednesday.
According to the letter dated May 11 and signed by C.C. Dike, special adviser (technical) to the labour minister, the meeting will be held at the banquet hall in the State House at 4 pm.