The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Owerri Zone, has issued a stark warning to the Nigerian government, demanding it stop paying lip service to public education. The union has given the government 14 days to resolve a series of long-standing grievances or risk a nationwide shutdown of universities.
Dennis Aribodor, the Zonal Coordinator of the Owerri chapter, delivered a scathing indictment at a press conference in Imo State, accusing the government of persistently underfunding the public university system. He also decried the treatment of lecturers, likening it to that of “16th-century slaves,” and warned that the looming crisis in higher education could soon erupt into another round of industrial action.
ASUU’s grievances are not new. The union detailed a litany of unresolved issues in a letter to the government, ranging from the failure to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement to the non-payment of salaries withheld during the 2022 strike action. The union is also demanding the release of funds earmarked for the revitalization of public universities and the payment of Earned Academic Allowances, both of which were partially included in the 2023 federal budget.
Further compounding these issues is the government’s refusal to accept ASUU’s proposed University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), an alternative to the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). Despite a presidential directive and court order supporting the removal of university staff from the IPPIS, the government has yet to implement the change.
“Lecturers are hungry and angry,” said Aribodor, as he highlighted the plight of university staff, who have been struggling under the weight of unpaid wages and inadequate funding for the institutions they serve. He criticized the political elites for neglecting education while pursuing “contractoracy” and constituency projects, ignoring the dire state of public universities.
Aribodor emphasized that ASUU has been consulting with various stakeholders in an effort to find a peaceful resolution to the crisis, but the government’s continued “empty promises” and delay tactics are fanning the flames of unrest.
The union’s 21-day ultimatum, issued in August, has now been extended by an additional 14 days. If the government fails to act within this period, ASUU warns that it will not hesitate to take industrial action once again, leaving the country’s public universities in a state of paralysis.
In a pointed message to the Nigerian ruling class, ASUU urged the government to prioritize public education, which many of its members had benefited from in the past, and to align its policies with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, which emphasizes the importance of accessible, quality education for all.
The clock is ticking, and if the government does not address these demands, the nation’s universities could face another crippling shutdown, further exacerbating an already fragile system.
