ASUU ends strike

Academic Staff Union of Universities and three other unions in the universities commenced an indefinite strike on June 22, 2009 to force the Federal Government to sign and implement the agreement entered into with them in 2001.
The Federal Government through the Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu met the leadership of the Unions severally before the negotiation broke down. Whilst all stakeholders were wondering what next to do, the Minister knew what next to do. He organised an expensive wedding and birthday anniversary that was the talk of the town for weeks. The creme de la creme of the society were present at the expensive bash. The Ministers children flown in and had a wonderful time at the taxpayers expense.
For four months that the strike lasted, the students were on the street wasting away. Some got part time jobs while some learnt new skill like computer programming, sewing, dancing etc. While some were busy finding tasks to keep them fully engaged and productive, some went into prostitution and armed robbery. For a few, travelling and visiting uncles and aunts became their passion. Whether doing good or bad, the students had free time that was not planned for to waste. This is not the first time that lecturers in Nigerian Universities would be going on strike but this was one strike to many.
The Union in demanding for the signing of this agreement, looked at the state of education in Nigeria and the deterioating facilities in the Ivory Tower that were crumbling. The agreement entered into covered funding, condition of service for Academic and Non Academic staff, University autonomy and Academic freedom.
In October, Adam Oshiomole, the ex labour leader and governor of Edo Stae, was contacted by the Federal Government to lead thier team to the negotiation with the leadership of ASUU after similar effort did not yield result with the former appointees. Both team met and finally decided on a two week suspension of the strike for the final stage of the negotiation
On Funding of the Universities, UNESCO prescribed a minimum of 26% of the annual budget of each nation to go to education. But in 2009, the Federal Government of Nigeria allocated only 13% of the budget to Education. This according to the Union is not enough to restore and expand facilities such as Hostels, classrooms, laboratories in all the Federal Universities in Nigeria. The state budgetary allocation to Education is even worse.
With proper funding, Universities would engage in research which is one of the responsibilies of tertiary institutions by Professors.
On the issue of autonomy, Universities will be in a better position to manage the resources available by utilising it for necessary projects unlike the appointed governments stooges and politicians who are intersted in stealing and wastages. Also the smooth and efficient running of the Universities would not be negotiated. There would be proper accountability, utilisation and transparency in all dealings.
Salaries should be such that young scholars would stay back in Nigeria and not all take off to America and Europe in pursuit of greener pastures. The brain drain must be stopped and the time to act is now.
It is a pity that our government representatives are not in tune with the yearning and expectations of Nigerians.
I pray this is the last time that universities would shut down for months. The damage to development work, human capital and the society is huge. I pray someone that started a four year course would finish under four years and proceed for the National Youth Service Corp. I pray our students would not be leaving for Ghana to continue thier academic pursuits. My prayers are many and I know God answers.

ADIEU MISS GRACE USHANG

When the news broke on sunday September 27th that a youth corper, Miss Grace Ushang from Cross River State serving her mandatory national one year service to her fatherland was raped and murdered in Maiduguri, i grieved.I imagined what she went through before life was finally snuffed out of her. Oh! what pain, what torment, what horror that the young lady was subjected to. Why would anyone kill another man because of religion or dress code? WHY?
I remember in 1987 the horror that almost happened when we finished from the NYSC camp in Zaria and had to stop by in Kaduna township to see my cousin and his family. I did not know he stayed at Badarawa village, a slump withn the city. Our friends took us to Kaduna and we ( my friend from school and the camp) highlighted at a nearby busstop and took a cab to the village. In fact my cousin stayed just at the boundary between the village and civilisation. In that hot afternoon in August 1987, the children had just closed from the schools around and were going home. We saw some mallams pushing carts of water containers and selling sugar canes in wheel barrows but we moved on hoping to get into the main street to ask for direction to my cousin's house. Just before we crossed the large gutter to step into the main street, the children acted as if on cue, bent and picked stones to throw at us. We were shocked and momentarily froze at one spot. Here were young ladies like Grace Ushang on National assignment from the southern part of the country in the Northern region being surrounded by children with stones and some had started throwing stones because we were wearing NYSC khaki trousers. Unfortunately the few hausa words we had picked from the language classes in the camp, did not help. God intervened. Two of the teachers in one of the schools just passed by and saw the scene unfolding so they quickly came down from their motorbikes and started shouting 'MAKARANTA NE, MAKARANTA NE'. Like a scene in one of Nigeria's Nollywood homevideos, the crowd that had gathered started dispersing slowly and relunctantly. The men apologised but we were so grateful to be alive that we almost knelt in the stagnant filty gutter to show our appreciation to the teachers for saving us from untimely death. That experience, that nightmare is still fresh as i am writing this.
Ours was a threat and we are alive to say it but the poor Miss Ushang is not alive to narrate her experience. What a shame. What an unfortunate but avoidable tragedy. Why would an agency send innocent people to areas that are prone to crisis and religious intolerance. Why waste a young girls' life so suddenly and wickedly?. Why must the ladies be sent to a remote and sometimes rural areas where there is no civilization for national assignment. Is it a must that Nigeria must be one? In all this, the innocent ones are the one paying the price for our leaders insensitivity.
May GRACE USHANG soul rest in perfect peace and may those criminals that carried out the dastardly act be apprehended by God and the police.