The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) [/b]has expressed its frustration over the federal government’s failure to fulfill any of the agreements that were reached during past negotiations between the two parties. Despite repeated promises and warnings of a potential strike, ASUU’s demands have yet to be addressed.
In a recent statement, ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, pointed out that the union had completed its part of the renegotiation process, yet the government has failed to take meaningful action. He noted that while the government set up a negotiation team, no concrete steps had been taken to resolve the issues at hand.
Reports indicate that ASUU and the federal government had earlier reached a tentative agreement following a series of warnings from the union about the possibility of a strike. However, according to Osodeke, no further progress has been made. He emphasized that aside from the initial formation of the government’s negotiation team, there has been no follow-up or concrete effort to address the concerns raised by the union.
“It has been about two months now, and the government’s team has not come back to us, let alone sign a new deal. The implication of this development is that the political class does not care about any development in public universities,” he said, expressing disappointment over the lack of urgency from the government. According to Daily Sun, Osodeke lamented that despite the government being in office for more than a year, none of ASUU’s longstanding demands have been permanently resolved. He stated that all education-related issues discussed during negotiations remain unresolved, signaling the government’s failure to address the critical needs of the public university system.
“No single issue has been permanently resolved by this government since assumption, which is more than a year now, out of all issues concerning our agreements,” Osodeke lamented. “So, in education, we can boldly say as a union that nothing has changed.” He further expressed frustration over the widening gap in the education system, where the wealthy continue to send their children abroad for studies, while the children of the less fortunate are left to endure deteriorating conditions in public universities. Osodeke emphasized that the current state of education reflects the broader social inequities in the country. “We are still telling the same old story, whereas the rich keep sending their children abroad to study and returning after studies to take up the so-called lucrative positions, especially in public establishments, leaving the children of the poor to continue to suffer,” he added.
ASUU has made it clear that it will not hesitate to go on strike if the government continues to ignore its obligations and commitments to the education sector. The union’s stance has drawn significant attention, as many students and their families remain concerned about the uncertainty surrounding the state of public education in the country.