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ASUU strike may last for a
year –Don
From AHMED OYERINDE, Sokoto
Thursday, September 24,
2009
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Awuzie,
ASUU President
•Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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The on-going face-off between The Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) and the Federal Government may last for more than one year.
The immediate past national president of ASUU, a senior lecturer
with Usman Danfodio University, Dr. Sule Kano who gave this indication
in an interview with Daily Sun in Sokoto described
the current strike as one of the most successful in the history
of the union. He explained that in the past, the union usually began
indefinite national strike when it had just 55 per cent of the branches
subscribing to such action.
But this time, he said it had 100 percent of its branches supporting
the action.
When reminded that Enugu State University had backed out of strike
action, Dr. Kano said: “Even if 50 percent of the union branches
go back to work, that cannot change anything. Let me tell you, this
strike can last for over one year. Our colleagues are ready for
what they called Ghana option. If government cannot operate university
system let them close them down permanently.”
The former ASUU boss maintained that there was no way the union
could accept a situation whereby the government that budgets N3
trillion in its 2009 year and paid political office holders N1.2
trillion could give education only 1.7 percent of its budget.
On the no-work, no-pay rule, Dr. Kano said members of the union
could not be scared, recalling that under “the draconian rule
of IBB,” university lecturers had their salaries stopped for
six months and they survived it.
Reacting to the issue of 40 percent salary increase, Kano explained
that the salary issue was not within the context of the agreement
the ASUU was talking about, describing the issue of salary increase
as claimed by the Federal Government as a ruse.
“Our union was not talking about any salary increment it is
nothing but blackmail. They said we asked for 109 percent salary
increase let them show the public the document we signed to that
effect,” Kano challenged.
Dr. Kano stated that all what the union was saying was that there
was an agreement which could bring about the establishment of a
minimum benchmark for the operation of the university in Nigeria
and that agreement must be allowed to work.
The ASUU former president further disclosed that Nigerians would
be shocked when they saw the list of all the people that were having
their children studying abroad and the amount of money being spent
on them. He said the list would soon be made available to the Nigerian
public.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the union Usman Danfodio University,
Dr. Lawale Abubakar said the strike was total at the university,
adding that the institution’s loyalty to the national body
was never in doubt.
“If government were truly representative of the people they
should see it as a duty to grant all requests of the university
lecturers, otherwise nobody should be blamed if the system eventually
collapsed,” he noted.
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