As we draw the green curtain over the 62nd anniversary of the Nigeria’s Independence, the University lecturers elongated down tool saddens the heart as we recount the losses to the Institutions, Students, Parents, Communities, Education Sector and the country.
With the elongated strike extending towards 8 months, it is worrying to all concerned Nigeria asking, “Must heaven fall before the strike can be called off?”. With the calls for payment structure being preferred by the Lecturers to funding requirements for the Institutes and remuneration appreciation, the demands may continue to linger as the strikes have been partitioned in series.
Government on the other hand, have not been able to direct or drive the conversation fruitfully to make headway. There have been calls for increment in government funding participation in the educational sector which has not been encouraging considering the budgetary allocation. The obvious take-home from this unending conversation is that, this ASUU-strike has scored the government and the nation low at Nigeria’s 62nd anniversary.
There are indications that the lecturers’ weaponized strike is not and may not be effective as a tool to get government to do all that they are demanding while the government has also shown that it may not be able to uphold or keep promises made to the tertiary lecturers considering the number strikes that have been consistently pronounced, suspended or called-off. There is need to some third-party involvements in the conversation for sustainable development or resolutions.
Besides, the lecturers and universities need to also do more to promote openness and transparency in how and what they get from consultancy, research grants and others different from their basic expected deliverables from the public university lecturer. While Faculties assess students for academic grades, students should be made to assess the Faculty to progressive appraisal. This will make our university lecturers more effective.
The government and universities can also establish Endowment funds with equity participation from the private sectors to promote trust and interests of various stakeholders in investing the tertiary education. This will also foster consideration of labour market demands and corporate world’s requirement in the curriculum and researches as a kitchen and laboratory for future solutions.
The government may be forced to look away totally by privatizing the tertiary education with its funding responsibility being made optional which will make tertiary education a rare option and an expensive option for many prospective Nigerian students. As an appeal, the lecturers and the universities should please call off the strike and do more to be innovative to attract local and international private interests and funding for a sustainable mutual relationship and contracts that will appreciate the capacity of the university, lecturers, students and scholastic works being produced.
Adekunle Razaq Aderibigbe
New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) Candidate
Lagos State House of Assembly
Ikorodu 1 Constituency