INSTEAD of addressing the core issues that led the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to go on strike, the Federal Government has continued to dance in circles as if buying time, with seven months to the end of its tenure.

On Tuesday, October 4, 2022, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, claimed that its registration of the Congress of Nigerian University Academics, CONUA, and the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Lecturers, NAMDA, would “liberalise” the academic sub-sector and allow more freedom for varsity workers.

According to Ngige: “In view of this registration, you are now entitled to all rights and privileges accruable to union of similar status which include the right to receive check-off dues of members. 

“You can now go back to your institutions and open the doors of your classrooms to teach the students”.

The Federal Government’s resort to antics started a couple of months ago when President Muhammadu Buhari gave the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, a two-week ultimate to “resolve” the ASUU strike. Adamu later claimed that he abandoned the negotiation with ASUU to Ngige because the latter insisted on handling it because the International Labour Organisation, ILO, statue conferred the duty on him.

Buhari asked Ngige to hands off the job for Adamu, only for the latter to claim that the president did not give him an ultimatum. He asked students to sue their lecturers for the strike. In spite of his failure as a Minister, Buhari has slated Adamu to receive a National Honour today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022!

Next, the Federal Government sued ASUU at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, NICN, which promptly ordered the union to resume work pending the determination of the case. The Federal Government ordered the vice-chancellors of universities to reopen their institutions. 

It later withdrew the order, possibly because it felt that breaking up the ASUU would entice the new unions to jump-start the reopening of the institutions.

We do not see how these antics will solve the problem. Even if CONUA and NAMDA resume classes, what about the other striking ASUU loyalists who will not be around to perform their duties? 

The Federal Government has only unwittingly added to its headache because CONUA and NAMDA, along with ASUU, can separately go on strike and saddle the government with more disgruntled workers’ unions to grapple with instead of one.

To end this strike, government must meet ASUU’s demands which are aimed at restoring the glories of the Nigerian university system. This military tactic of breaking up a union is of no effect. Education and health must be prioritised.  If Buhari, our Petroleum Minister, can stop oil thievery, ASUU’s demands can be met with a small fraction of the amounts we lose.