Labour minister, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, says the autonomous status of the nation’s universities has robbed the academic staff of the opportunity to negotiate with the Federal Government on the issue of salary and other matters that triggered on-going strike by the academic staff.
In essence, the minister explains there is no subsisting agreement on payrise with government as claimed by ASUU. Excerpts of Kayode’s interview with Sunday Vanguard:
By ABAYOMI ADESHIDA
YOU are the labour minister and, currently, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, are on strike over a myriad of agreements that the Federal Government has failed to implement despite several years that the university lecturers have been urged to toe the path of peace in articulating their demands.
How did we get to this fresh impasse and how soon would this be over in view of the collateral damage this could inflict on the nation?
Well, discussing with ASUU or indeed all the stakeholders in the education sector has always been a challenging exercise. When I came to the labour ministry as minister, I think this is one of the areas in which I had a lot of trepidation.
For the purpose of what is on ground now, I think we have really had a breakthrough, because I can tell you authoritatively that Mr. President has agreed that a very reasonable offer should be made for the enhancement of the pay of the university teachers.
But the only issue is that in the past, we have pursued this matter in a very unconstitutional manner. The Federal Government has always negotiated with ASUU which is a body comprising lecturers, teachers in the federal system and the states system.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government cannot bind the states system. So, as you can see, it is wrong for government to have been speaking with ASUU which has membership from the federal and state institutions. Secondly, it is wrong of the Federal Government to negotiate with even any teacher because the Federal Government is not their employers. The University Councils or the Boards of these institutions are their employers. You get my point?
In view of the institutional autonomy, which is one of the demands of ASUU, and which the Federal Government has granted, why is the Federal Government talking to the university lecturers? Rather, it is the local union that should negotiate with individual institution.
The Federal Government can agree on some baseline, like the minimum wage, then each institution would pay as it can. So, this is the point, but for the moment, and for the lecturers to go back to school today, and I really mean it today, government is going to make a reasonable offer to them and this is being done with all sense of responsibility even though the circumstances do not favour it at all.
The economy is in a very bad shape and finance is in a very bad shape, and all over the world, there are serious challenges about payment of salaries; and everybody knows that no country in this world today that I know of is increasing salaries.
And Nigeria is not an island of its own. We are all impacted by the problems, both external problems and internal problems. We all know what is happening in the Niger Delta, we cannot pretend that all these things are not impacting on finances and government revenue.
These universities are public institutions in Nigeria and the lecturers are merely asking for government action to raise the quality of graduates of these institutions to global standards…
Exactly, this is the issue. But if I was employed by let’s say the University of Lagos.
I applied to the University of Lagos, I was employed by the University of Lagos, the approval of Mr. President or even the minister of education was never sought, I can be sacked by the University of Lagos.
I retire from the University of Lagos, bound by the rules which I have signed with the University of Lagos, why then should the minister of education or even Mr. President, or indeed myself, interfere with the contract? On what basis would we be taking that action?
Look, ASUU and the unions fought for autonomy, why do we like to do things half and half? If we want autonomy, we must implement the autonomy across board, and that is the right thing to do, that is what is happening all over the world.
Let’s be realistic about this matter. In fact, university teachers may get more money from the institutions, depending of course on the financial conditions of these institutions.
But, we cannot say that because these universities are in Nigeria, even when we call them Federal Universities, they must come and negotiate with the Federal Government; even though they have signed separate agreements with their institutions.
Let me give you a classical example. We have many institutions today in Nigeria which are regulatory institutions like NAFDAC, NCC, even institutions like the NNPC, and so on, they earn different salaries.
You can’t say because oh you are all federal agencies, a NAFDAC staff would earn the same thing as NNPC staff. You negotiate your salary with your employers.
And that is how it’s supposed to be, that is the relative autonomy which they have been given. I concede that it was the fault of the Federal Government to have fallen into this trap in the first place, and now, the chicken has come home to roost.
And we must really go and tow the path of law, but the path of law is that if you are staff of University of Lagos, you can only discuss your pay with the University of Lagos, you can’t discuss with even the University of Ibadan or somewhere else; especially when these institutions are established by law.
Does this explain why the Education minister said there had never been an agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU?
Believe me that is the underlining issue though it was not articulated that way. But now this is the time, as I said the chicken has come home to roost. There can never be any agreement between ASUU and the Federal Government. One, if there is such an agreement, it would be unconstitutional and it will be illegal.
That is just the truth, because you cannot agree with ASUU when you are not the employer of ASUU.
The local ASUU in the University of Lagos can agree with their employers and at best, what the federal Government can be is interventionist, just to help to guide not to now enter into agreements with lecturers employed by the University of Lagos. So, there was never really, honestly, there was never really any agreement.
What about the Onosode panel?
On the Onosode panel, it was a matter of giving their recommendations to government, and government giving a decision on it; and what government will do for this purpose is ok, yes, we’ll find a way to see an enhanced salary; but this may be the last time this will be done, because the right thing to do is you negotiate your salary with your institutions.
For instance, if you work in Vanguard, you are a journalist, you work in Vanguard, and do you earn the same amount of money with your colleague in This Day? Or, does the man working in Herald in Ilorin earn the same amount with you? So, what are we talking about here?
*Labour minister, Adetokunbo Kayode
In arriving at this point, was government concerned about the brain drain in the educational sector that has brought the standard of education down?
So many factors have been responsible for the fallen standard of education in Nigeria and indeed all over the world. Brain drain is part of it, and brain drain is not a Nigerian phenomenon, let’s be realistic about that. Forces of production will gravitate towards where they think they have comparison advantage.
The lecturers themselves, not that they were forced out of Nigeria, they left and I think that the onus is on them to come and tell us why they left. I am here in Nigeria, I could as well have left too as a lawyer to go and teach law or to go and practice law abroad; but I never did. Some people chose to leave, I think they stand to answer the question why they left the country.
Why do you want to abandon your country? Honestly, why should they do that, which country is perfect? Now, a lot of people are looking for the opportunity to come back. Why must you abandon your country and why do you blame government for that? I never left, and I should have left, but I didn’t.
But I cannot now blame government for not going or for going. So, for me, we should ask this question from those who left. There is no country that is perfect. Look at them: we go abroad, we see our colleagues who are teaching law in universities abroad, and do you think they are better than lecturers in Nigerian universities even now?
Honestly, these guys have thick sole shoes, they walk, they trek, it is hard life over there, very hard life, and the truth is that I do not envy them. There is no true professional in this country that will sincerely tell you that he really envies his counterpart outside; when they come home for vacation, we see them! When they come for Christmas; to bury their father or mother, we see them. You understand, they are not better off and that’s the truth. You have colleagues, many of them who took off abroad, are they better than you? Don’t you feel happier being here?
The important thing is that it is not these policies that really led to brain drain, people just thought there were gilded streets, there was another Eldorado somewhere and they fell into the trap; the Western, European propaganda that ‘look, it is better here.’ But that is not, it is hard life there. I’d rather be here, anytime, any day, I’ll be here.
It is now clear why ASUU was not invited to the meeting held here in the Presidential Villa yesterday over the ASUU strike, but may we know exactly the decisions of that meeting and how government hopes to get the lecturers back to work?
Exactly, I just told you that Mr. President has graciously agreed that a reasonable offer be made.
How reasonable is the offer?
Oh, very reasonable but there are two critical backgrounds. One, the fact that nowhere in the world is anybody getting increased salary; secondly, because Mr. President feels so touched and concerned about the fact that children… and all the time, there is always this ASUU strike, and they are always in and out of school; we want to put an end to all that. Honestly, he is tired of the ASUU strike.
That is why he directed that we should give them whatever they want; this time, reasonable offer, something that can be sustainable, then let them go back to classroom immediately.
Even if he wants to follow the law, there is no need for any talk, let them go and negotiate with the institutions. But because he’s concerned that children have been out of school, and the case is even made worse because students in private universities are in school.
And you begin to wonder, how come private universities are never on strike, how come it’s only teachers in government institutions that are always on strike? And nobody has come to tell me that it was because teachers in private universities are better paid, I’ve never heard that argument.
What I have heard is that teachers in Ghana or Burkina Faso are better paid; but I have never heard the argument that teachers in private universities in Nigeria are better paid. So what are we talking about?
Is government not concerned also that this hard stand could affect achieving the Millennium Development Goals at least in the educational sector as it could affect the enrolment of school-age children if their parents and guardians are unsure of how long their investments would start yielding results?
Of course, everybody is concerned. And let us understand it: it was the concern of government that has enabled us to get this approval we have got to make this offer to the teachers to enhance their salaries even though it is unreasonable to increase salaries now.
The revenue of government all over the world is dwindling, there is global economic crisis, and people must understand that we are not an island, we are all negatively impacted by the global economic problem. And the argument that this matter has been on for long, why didn’t you do it in 2000; is non sequitur.
It’s a non sequitur because it was not done and it was not my fault, I was not minister then; it was not President Yar’Adua’s fault because he was not president then. It is true that today, though nothing has happened since then and today, we have serious economic problems.
So, this enhancement, how much would it add to what they were getting before and when is it going to take effect?
What we want to do is to go back to the Onosode panel, and inform them that look this is the position so that it will become the baseline which they will now offer the teachers, and they will now go and take it up with their universities.
So, it is only fair that this should be done properly through the Onosode panel. But I want to emphasize a point that a lot of emotions, a lot of considerations, a lot of sense of responsibility have gone into this decision.
Because you know in our country, if you enhance the salary of teachers by even five percent, everybody too would want an enhancement. Soon after, people would forget about the argument that teachers should be given a preferential treatment, which we all agree.
Again, part of why we all agreed is because of the students, whom we don’t want to be on the streets. Everybody would be asking as soon as teachers are granted and it would harm the economy, you know it that we cannot have this now.
Did this final decision take into cognizance, the usual follow up problems of areas during the implementation and when is the effective date this one would be commencing?
This salary enhancement will take effect from the first of July, this year. They would pay on a monthly basis thereafter. As I told you, Mr. President wanted to be sure that the money would be available to pay beginning from the end of July.
The first pay would be on July 13 as it is starting from the first of July. Do you understand?, and the money will be available. It would not be a matter of let’s go and look for money, because they have to scrape everything available to pay; and I want to advise that the University teachers should take this and run with it.
Secondly, they should also not forget that from now, we will begin to the policy of no work no pay. Because it will really be unfair for anybody to, in these difficult times, be earning money for not doing any work. No work, no pay.
No nation can develop above its human capital resource, so goes the wise saying – tested and proven to be valid! With this opening remark, I am worried to read the extract of interview with the Labour Minister.
To be modest, it is ignorant of anyone, not even a public office holder of the status of Labour Minister in Nigeria to say that “there can never be any agreement between ASUU and government” on the excuse of the existence of autonomy in the universities. Given the benefit of doubt that Mr Kayode might not have a previous knowledge of the state of the extant agreement between the FG and ASUU, I will admonish the Minister to find time to read through the full content of the ASUU/FG Agreement of 1992 and further developments before he was lucky to be appointed into his present office.
I am yet to understand what the Minister was driving at in comparing the conditions of service/remunerations obtainable in private and public universities. The Minister needs be told that a public university is for every Nigerian citizen while a private university is an issue of option which an individual family who can afford the fees payable may wish to send their children to. The Minister needs be further educated that it was the boomerang of the various insensitivities of previous administrations towards education sector (including non-chalance at agreement fulfilment) warranted by some of his predecessors in office led to the proliferation of private educational institutions (including universities) in Nigeria.
Furthermore, I wish to give a note of caution to Mr Kayode not to tread the path that have led his precessors in office to being disgraced out of that office. The statement of “work to rule” which he has threatened will be applied henceforth is not going to be helpful in solving the present crisis.
At this juncture, Nigeria is not going into war, so the budget vote on Defence can be trimmed down and the offices of the Special Advisers, Special Assistant and Personal Assistant to the Special Assistant for all the ministries can be scrapped. Let us quantify the financial implications of all these and weigh it with the request of ASUU. If advanced economies are pegging retirement age above 70 years for public officers, what is the problem with our own country despite the oil.
Finally, I want to leave us with a common wise saying “if you think education is costly, try ignorance”. The concerned Nigerian patriots need to impress it on President Umaru Yar ‘Adua not to allow himself to be misguided by some members of his Executive Council about the decision to be made at this crucial moment. The Minister of Education and his contemporary in the Labour Ministry are expected to know what is ideal to permanetly get the nation out of the present crisis in the education sector.
Thank you Simon, you make my day. The minister is behaving like someone who is on the defensive! Has he ever gone to any of the so-called private Universities? If he has not, i will tell him they are not even worth the name! When it is ASUU, there will be economic melt down, but uneducated politicians got pay raise silently every time. In fact the labour minister should go back to his chambers as a lawyer and let’s know how much he will be making monthly. I think government need a more coherent person to defend her. It is not reasonable to compare earnings in private sectors of the economy and the Universities, otherwise where would the minister place the “universal” in that city?? Finally, let me tell this minister and his ilks that WHEN THE FIG TREE BEGINS TO SHED ITS LEAVES, THE WISE SHOULD TAKE TO HEART BECAUSE THE SUMMER IS ALMOST OVER. Overzealous ministers will do well to remember the first republic, and if they can not think that far back, to remember the second republic. It will be a shame if as a result of their unguarded behaviour our still faltering democracy is sacrificed on the alter of irresponsibility. A word is enough for the wise.
Thank you for disagreeing with me, Ogochukwu. I am not in absolute possession of all knowledge. And I am open to accepting my mistakes whereby I commit any.
On my part, I am in agreement with your contribution on the issue in context, asides your borrowed allusion from the minister on the variables and determinant factors as regards the salaries of categories of workers in contrast with those of their colleagues at various other institutions. In this task, I will narrow my response to your reference of corruption in the universities.
To judge the truism in your statement may well set one the course of imagination of the era, exposition and setting factors therein.
Several nations, in Africa, gain independence the same period alongside Nigeria in 1960. I am restricting my comparison to African nations. I could as well broaden it to nations in other continents but there is no need. Some of these nation’s today are ahead of Nigeria in terms of development while others, at the same time, may be lagging behind. You could as well argue that we ought to be on the same pedestal. Depending on the yardstick, you may be right in reasoning since those countries are nations just as Nigeria is a nation.
I agree with you that corruption exists in our citadel of learning as inferred in your piece. It is the same situation in government circles. This is one of the reasons why the ivory tower, as well as the nation, have suffered severe setback. You would agree with me that corruption comes in various forms and dimensions. We have moral, spiritual, social and material corruptions to mention few.
Back to basis, prior to the claimed autonomy to universities, government had been in charge of these institutions. And the same government – past and present – has through the years starved these institutions of funds and systematic neglected them. Or do you suggest that, during these periods under reference, while that the schools were government controlled, lecturers would have committed part of their entitlement to taking care of the infrastructure?
On corruption among some lecturers, as in the case of bribe for grades, it is condemnable and ought not to be condoned. However, this is reflective of our society today. Those who are in position of curbing such demeanors are neck deep themselves in one grave offense or the other.
So, Ogo, you would agree with me that government has a larger share of blame for the current state of the nation’s universities.
However, our concern ought to remain on not just harping on faults but proffering solutions as well. That is why government should never have taking the present hard stance on the ongoing negotiation with representatives of the universities’ lecturers. There is therefore need for all parties to return to the re-negotiation table and leave stance that may hamper present and future of the education sector.
What should come uppermost in the hearts of both parties should be the need to finding a lasting solution to the problems confronting the nation’s education sector.
Lastly, the National Assembly should, on its part, expedite action on the Education Trust Fund (ETF) which has been presented to it since 2007. This bill, according to government, ought to address the issue of the universities infrastructural and instructional facilities and staff development
Once again, thank you Oguchukwu for your reaction to my contribution. Keep it up. Let’s not fail to raise issues that contribute to the rapid development of our nation. Nigeria is ours. And it must survive.
I disagree with Sam and Matthew, what the Government is saying makes perfect sense to me, nowhere in the world are teachers paid very well, no where.
I am pretty sure the salary structure of a lecturers outside Nigeria is not uniform in all the Universities in that country. The price of crude gets unsteady daily and seriously speaking there is NO WHERE IN THE WORLD WHERE PAY RISES ARE BEING GIVEN AT THE MOMENT.
The wanted autonomy they got it, and now it has become the rope with which they will hang themselves, there is no way a Unilag lecturer on the same level should be earning the same as a lecturer from Delsu.
ASUU will never ever get what they want and they have finally handed the Government a good tool to reduce the efficiency of their nuances and very ill timed strike actions.
Personally speaking in my 7 years of Nigerian tertiary education I can only count a very few men worthy of the name lecturer. Only naive people would believe that the ills of the Nigerian education system would disappear once this is granted, collecting money for grades and so on.
Without prejudice, I think that the Federal Government has never been and is not prepared to handle the case of public universities in a sincere manner. Firstly, the autonomy of universities which the honourable minister is fronts as one of the excuses of neglecting the negotiation and by extension the wellbeing of the institutions has just been recently granted. Not even his reference to the state of the nation’s economy and that of the world can save the Federal Government of its faux pas on this issue.
The problems confronting the universities and its present state today have subsisted even prior to the recent granting of autonomy to the ivory tower or the economic doldrums of the nation and the world. This date back to even when government was still in charge of these universities. I though I heard that Nigeria was never in recession? Sorry, maybe it was through the grapevine or something like that. Dang it! Maybe this was meant to be kept a secret. Or it was meant to cajole unsuspecting investors to invest in the stock market . Oops, I spilled the beans Mr. Tunde Lemo, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Truth of the matter is that governments – past and present – have failed to live up to its responsibility in all ramifications.
One finds the minister’s allusions to other institutions vis-à-vis the universities as incoherent and ridiculous. It appears that there is no synchronism and articulation in the activities and statements of the various organs and agencies of this government.
While it makes people believe that it is striving to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDA) and launching the nation as one of the 20 world’s most industrialized economy in the year 2020, it is obliterating factors that are vital at attaining the set goals – education, infrastructural development and technology to mention few.
Without prejudice, I think that the Federal Government has never been and is not prepared to handle the case of public universities in a sincere manner. Firstly, the autonomy of universities which the honourable minister is fronts as one of the excuses of neglecting the negotiation and by extension the wellbeing of the institutions has just been recently granted. Not even his reference to the state of the nation’s economy and that of the world can save the Federal Government of its faux pas on this issue.
The problems confronting the universities and its present state today have subsisted even prior to the recent granting of autonomy to the ivory tower or the economic doldrums of the nation and the world. I though I heard that Nigeria was never in recession? Sorry, may it was through the grapevine or something like that. Dang it! Maybe this was meant to be kept a secret. Or it was meant to cajole unsuspecting investors to invest on stock. Oops, I spilled the beans Mr. Tunde Lemo, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Truth of the matter is that governments – past and present – have failed to live up to its responsibility in all ramifications.
One finds the minister’s allusions to other institutions vis-à-vis the universities as incoherent and ridiculous. It appears that there is no synchronism and articulation in the activities and statements of the various organs and agencies of this government.
While it makes people that it is striving to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDA) and launching the nation as one of the 20 world’s most industrialized economy in the year 2020, it is obliterating factors that are vital at attaining the set goals – education, infrastructural development and technology to mention few.
Teaching in Nigerian Universities is hell. This one is not just teaching but teaching under difficult situations. I have a class of 800 and in that same classroom we were only 45 when I was a student. Infact, there were more seats in that class then than now. The question is whether it is only salary that ASUU is asking of? Is this autonomy that has been suddenly granted a complete one as demanded by ASUU? What of JAMB and NUC are they still going to be there while we have this emergency autonomy that Govt is now using as an escape route? The more Govt sets up committees, the more the strike lingers. Now you say you have met 3 of the 4 conditions and yet you do not have any agreement with ASUU. This govt is already contradicting itself. One thing is correct. The chickens has come home to roost. Infact the students are all home and when the chips are down, we will know why people are migrating to other countries. I am diasspointed that a man as well educated are the Labour minister will be talking like this. Has he ever gone to any of the private universities? To be honest with your Mr. Minister, it is only those who cannot get employed in Fed or even State schools that go to private schools. Majority of their lecturers have only a first degree. That is why they cannot go on strike. Another category they have is retired academics. Even if you stop their salary today, it will not have improved education in the country, you will only make them unhappy for a short while. Those salaries will still be paid eventually. Let the chickes roost, after sometime, they will come to roast. You can force a horse to the stream but it will difficult to force it to drink. A word is enough for the wise.