BENIN CITY—THE Vice-Chancellor, Wellspring University, Benin City, Edo State, Prof. Godson Igborgbor, has blamed insincerity on the part of the Federal Government and other stakeholders for the persistent disruption of academic activities in tertiary institutions in the country through strike actions.

Like an anniversary celebration, this year’s edition of the annual closure of Nigerian Universities began on Tuesday July 01, 2013. As usual, no one knows when it will end. Indeed, the National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Dr Nasir Fagge says members of the Union are resolute that, only a complete resolution of the issues at stake would bring the current strike action to an end.

It is therefore not surprising that a large percentage of lecturers across the universities appear incapable of examining repercussions of frequent strikes critically and comprehensively; it is as if they are stymied by marginal improvement in salaries after each strike. But as we argued last week, there is no clear evidence that such improvement has translated into enhanced quality of teaching and research

Legal luminary and one of Nigeria’s foremost human rights activists, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) has stated that the present ASUU strike is of great concern to him. According to him; “the Federal Government has over the years consistently neglected to adequately our universities. We are involved in the present ASUU strike because ASUU is trying to re-build the universities, force the people in power to fund our universities.”

Hundreds of students of various higher institutions have taking to the streets in Lagos over the lingering strike embarked upon by academic unions in polytechnic and universities.

It seems the most effective way in getting government’s attention on any issue in Nigeria by its employees and other unions is to embark on industrial action, otherwise called strike.

The Federal Government, yesterday, begged the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to return to classrooms, as the union insisted that the strike would continue unless agreements between it and government were implemented.