ASUU Strike: Of Gainers And Losers, By Tunde Abatan
“The casualties are not only those who are dead, they are well out of it
The casualties are not only the sit at home, though they await burial by installment……”
The above poem by renowned poet, the late John Pepper Clark, captures vividly the mood and psyche of the nation as reflected in the lasting social and economic trauma inflicted on its citizens by the Nigeria-Biafra Civil war fought between 1967-1970.
It was a clear depiction of the unseen effects of the war trauma on both the living and dead.
Today, the Casualties written by Clark, best describes the true face of the trauma the just concluded strike by the Academic Union of Universities, ASUU.
The eight months long stay away from classroom, has left in it’s trail many unseen Causalities both in our schools, in our homes homes where parents struggle to keep their wards in schools; among Lecturers; federal government, students, estate agents, landlords and those whose businesses within the campuses of the closed universities.
Many businesses have folded up during the month long strike and in the process took away source of living of it’s owners and workers.
Yes, there are gainers on some sides after the strike was called off last week.
On the part of the striking lecturers they made gains as their tenacity though misunderstood by many has forced the federal government to renegotiate an agreement signed in 2009 which it has failed to implement.
Now, the lecturers can smile home as withheld salaries for eight months will be paid even if in tranches.
For the ASUU, total sum of N50 billion earned allowances;N170 billion salary increment and N250 billion for revitalisation fund will be released to update the decaying infrastructures in the universities especially the federally owned.
From whatever way you look at it, ASUU has gained from the strike though with bruises of a recognition to a rival body CONUA ,which hasty recognition was probably the last joker adopted by Dr Chris Ngige, to clip the wings of ASUU.
It remains to be seen whether, the recognition will add any weight or lasting effect on the new body.
For the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, his intervention marked the climax of the struggle between ASUU and the Federal government.
At the end of the day, his intervention faced the face of both the FG, the image of both Dr Ngige and the Education Minister Adamu Adamu, who seems to have lost much credibility to the titanic struggle.
For the duo of Adamu and Ngige, their tenure will forever remain a dent in public administration in the country as they probably individually and collectively created a gulf between the striking union and both the federal government and President Muhammadu Buhari who has to carry the can of worms heaped on his government.
This is due to inability to act decisively to reach a compromise between his government and ASUU.
Gbajabiamila will remain, for long as his party, the All Progressives Congress, APC is in power, the saving grace of it’s bad image as he stepped in when all hopes seems lost of a compromise between the two sides.
He gained in positive image, what Ngige, Adamu and President Buhari lost.
The Speaker has also in a way helped his party from defending it’s actions to the angry students, parents and lecturers who will vote in the coming election which is transitory in nature.
The FG also has its gains in passing part of the bulk in getting fund to revitalizing infrastructures and other issues as the universities will charge new fees for it’s services to students and by inference the parents.
Owners of private accommodations in the surroundings of the universities have gained more as students who have paid before the strike have their rents unutilized while some of the owners may increase their rents on resumption for new students since the universities hardly accommodate most of its students.
On the part of students, Buhari regimes education policy will remain a dark spot in educational development of the country.
After eight months of idleness, the students have their future withheld by a government that is reactionary to education pursuit.
For many of them about to graduate, the strike halted their life.
The parents of the students especially those who have paid for accommodations to private owners, will have to cough out fresh money to pay rents on resumption.
The strike for parents represents further depression and extension of their finances on their children education, welfare and dependence.
In addition for the parents, the burden of the FG agreement with ASUU on earned allowances will be transferred to them as universities will definitely charge higher fees to be able to contribute to FG funding on the agreement.
This translates to more pressure on parents both those whose children are still in school and the incoming new students.
While the advantage of improve in infrastructure could not be seen with the N250billion revitalisation fund, it is apparent parents have to bear part of the burden as it means increase in tuition fees and other sundry charges by university authorities.
The parents lost more to the strike.
Owners of businesses within and around university campuses are also significant losers since operation of the universities remain their source of living and survival.
For instance, food vendors operating the various canteen, eateries in and around the campuses would’ve sacked their workers during the eight months strike while suppliers of foodstuff will also have to look elsewhere to empty their stock.
Beside food vendors, owners of secretarial services, book stores, transport operators within and around the campuses would be counting their loses now in billions since students have returned home to their various states especially in the federal universities.
Losers all over you will say!
For the newly registered CONUA, it is doubtful whether they stand to gain more beyond the temporal euphoria created by Dr Ngige, which Gbajabiamilas fruitful intervention with positive results have dimmed.
The body will have to struggle in the days ahead to remove the tag of betrayal on their ranks especially since they will also reap from ASUUs gains.
It is doubtful if they could get enough attention and recognition more so when election of new government is around the corner.
In all, the standard and quality of education in the country has dropped since breaks that lasted for months have created social distractions as some of the female students would either have dropped along the way due to unplanned pregnancies and other social dislocations which idleness would have caused.
The nations education development will also be lost as some lecturers have relocated outside the country while the private universities will conversely increase in patronage as some parents who could afford to pay will transfer their wards there or outside the country.
The nations economy has also suffered it’s own loses as macro economy has suffered as both the idleness of lecturers, students and businesses has affected gross domestic product with it’s effects.
Hence, the ASUU strike this time around should provide an opportunity for both parties involved and the nation to look back and adopt a new approach to resolving emergent issues in the nations education system.
