ASUU: Is this the last ASUU Strike?

‘Rulings from the learned judges of the national industrial court (NIC) and the appeal court conjoined with the registration of CONUA and NAMDA, have led credence to the widely held belief that the hitherto respected ASUU, could well be on its last throes’

The court of appeal judgement yesterday which ordered ASUU to resume classes as a condition for its appeal to be heard is a step in the right direction. More than anything, the judgement by the national industrial court (NIC) which ruled on the federal government’s suit seeking an interlocutary injunction to stop the ongoing ASUU strike is commendable. The NIC granted the prayers of the federal government and ruled that ASUU should call off its strike. The appeal court ruling yesterday has technically ‘upheld’ the judgement of the national industrial court. The combined effects of the judgement by the NIC and the ruling by the appeal court have interpreted the position of the law on ASUU strikes and reechoed the fact that ASUU’s method of shutting down universities in the name of strikes is unconstitutional.

ASUU can go parri passu and negotiate with the federal government on salary increase -which is actually the crux of the matter- while teaching at the same time. This is the method which the other unions of non-academic staff in the universities apply- NASU and SSANU. These unions go on a few days strike after which they call it off to allow negotiations. Why should ASUU be different?

Indeed, the current ongoing strike action by ASUU may well be the last of such obnoxious strike actions which are threatening to cripple Nigeria’s university education and stagnate all efforts at nation-building. Enough is enough indeed.

ASUU shot itself in the foot in the first place by applying its obnoxious methodology of shutting down universities in the name of strikes. They should have kept the universities open while negotiating with the federal government. The current method of abstaining from the classrooms in the name of strikes is wrong in totality. The right methodology is to continue teaching while negotiations between ASUU and its employer, the federal government of Nigeria are going on. The world over, unions stay for not more than 3 days on strikes after which they resume and continue negotiations.

Any unions that declare a perpetual strike is saying that they are no longer interested in the job.

The method of keeping classrooms open while negotiations continue is backed by patriotism, respect for public interest and the need to avoid hurting the future of innocent students who bear no fault in the tango between ASUU and the federal government. The victims of ASUU strikes are always the innocent students. These students have suffered enough. It is time to put a final stop to ASUU strikes. The federal government should go ahead to implement the ruling of the NIC and the court of appeal and any lecturer who dares and refuses to resume classes should be disengaged to pave the way for other qualified candidates who are interested in the university teaching job. As it seems, the issue is gradually itching towards the ‘sack and reapply’ option under which ASUU members not willing to resume classes are disengaged and giving the opportunity to reapply and sign new conditions of service if reinstated.

Clearly, the combined effects of the rulings by the national industrial court (NIC) and the appeal court have, from the legal point of view dealt the final blow to ASUU strikes. ASUU now needs to go back to the drawing board, intensify research, restrategise and come out with inferences on a new method to replace strikes as a a tool to press for salary increase which by the way, is always balanced-out by rising inflation after some few months. Clearly ASUU strikes have lost their substance and are no longer fashionable.

ASUU’s monopoly of strikes is now effectively broken with the registration of two sister unions in the universities by the federal government, viz the congress of university academics (CONUA) and the national association of medical and dental academics (NAMDA). It is no longer a blank cheque for ASUU to embark on strikes even against the wishes of some of its members. University lecturers who oppose strikes as a means of pressing their demand for salary increase now have an option to join CONUA or NAMDA and go back to the classrooms.

State universities are technically decoupled from ASUU and may no longer embark on any so-called copy cat ‘solidarity strikes’ as they now clearly understand that ASUU has very little or no respect for them after the ASUU President Professor Emmanuel Osodeke described state universities as ‘quacks and irrelevant’

The Trade Dispute Act Vol.15 CAP T8 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 is clear, explicit and unambiguous that strikes must be called off as soon as a suit is before the industrial court or any other court of competent jurisdiction. This is in tandem with global standards and the need to maintain status quo ante bellum pending the determination of the substantive suit. Impliedly, lecturers have to resume work once a litigation or court process has begun on the strike action. It is not by coincidence that the TUA (2004) orders a cessation of strikes once the case is before the courts. Rather, it is to avoid jeopardising the court process and to give the court ample time and space to assess the situation for an informed decision.

ASUU’s strikes are inimical to the sustenance nay existence of the university system in Nigeria and it has many implications to national security and the sovereignty of the nation. Gradually but surely, ASUU strikes if allowed to fester, will lead to the full privatisation of university education in Nigeria and could well mean that many innocent children in Nigeria will not go to universities (irrespective of their high WAEC/NECO grades) because their parents cannot afford private universities. Education is one sector that no nation can fully privatise because some children cannot afford private universities and every child is entitled to education up to and including tertiary education. Indeed, the statement by the national association of university students (NANS) that ASUU wants to shut down public universities so as to pave the way for a full privatisation of universities cannot be taken lightly.

On national security, the nation may be on its way to #Endsars 2 because university students are lying idle at home for 10 months now – and counting

Recall the #Endsars 1 protests in October 2020 which literally turned the nation inside out happened during ASUU strikes when students were sitting idle at home. The nation lost over 100 lives and property worth over N10 Triliion after hoodlums hijacked the otherwise peaceful #Endsars protest.

The sponsors of #Endsars 1 had little difficulty in recruiting vulnerable university students who were at home at the time. These #Endsars sponsors (who were never prosecuted by the courts) recruited students to set the tone in pursuing their agenda of promoting anarchy and destabilisation in the land.

Nigeria cannot afford #Endsars 2 especially when juxtaposed with the huge losses of lives and property during #Endsars 1 when ASUU was on its usual strike.

The losses of #Endsars 1 were huge: over 100 lives lost including 22 policemen who paid the supreme price, 205 critical national assets either vandalised, burnt, or both. 71 public warehouses and 248 stores belonging to government and individuals were emptied after miscreants hijacked the otherwise peaceful protest. States worst hit were Lagos, Edo, Delta, Oyo, Kano, Plateau, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Rivers, Abia, Imo, Ekiti and the FCT. The rest is history.

The federal government of Nigeria cannot be exonerated from the current travails of Nigerian students occasioned by ASUU strikes. As a matter of fact, no government should allow ASUU strikes to linger for 10 months- and counting- without finding a solution. After the declaration of strikes by ASUU on 14 February 2022, the federal government should have gone to court the next day -15 February 2022- to seek for an order of mandamus and stop the strikes while negotiations continue. This will keep the classes open while the federal government negotiates with ASUU. Why should the federal government wait for 6 months before going to court when everyone knows that ASUU has taken a holier-than-thou posture? Many people believe that the federal government is deploying a rather cavalier approach in dealing with ASUU strikes because the children of top government officials have an immunity to ASUU strikes as they study abroad in the best universities around the world. Why should the federal government always wait for innocent university students to lose at least a semester or full academic session before trying to fix the problem?

The rulings of the national industrial court (NIC) and the appellate court have cemented the position of the law on the illegality of ASUU strikes. The only seeable option for ASUU is to resume classes and avoid a contempt of court – which is another issue of its own. Yes, ASUU can be sued for contempt of court if they fail to resume classes. Some ASUU supporters feel that ASUU should resume classes and declare another strike immediately to avoid contempt of court. This decision is supported by people who have no idea as to why the law exists. It is like a convicted person serving his jail term and going back to the same criminal activities that put him to jail in the first place. Does that not make it worse?

University lecturers who are patriotic and have a heart for the students should deregister with ASUU and register with CONUA, resume classes and continue to fight for better conditions of service while teaching- not through strikes.

Even when the trade dispute act (2005) has very clearly stated in section 14(2) that striking workers are not entitled to salary arrears under the NO WORK NO PAY policy, the federal government may choose to apply the ‘doctrine of compassion’ and pay, in part or full the salary arrears of any lecturer who returns to classes in obedience to the court ruling.

It is no longer about begging ASUU to resume classes, it is about obeying court order and avoiding a contempt of court.

 

DR ABUBAKAR ALKALI alkalizai@yahoo.com

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