From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and other Western agencies of deliberate efforts to destroy the public university system in Nigeria.
ASUU President Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke stated this at the 2024 ASUU Heroes Day celebration in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the day was set aside a few years ago to honour members who made great sacrifices for the Nigerian educational system in general and the public university system in particular.
He said: “Sadly, this year’s celebration of our heroes is also taking place as we continue with the struggle to rescue Nigeria’s public universities from the suffocating clutches of the World Bank and the IMF, whose determination to destroy and bury our public university system has not abated.
“It is rather lamentable that we are still in the struggle to compel the renegotiation of our 2009 agreement with the Federal Government 12 years since it should have been concluded and four cycles of renegotiation thereafter.
“It is most disheartening that despite the several Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Memoranda of Action (MoAs), the ASUU/FGN 2009 agreement is yet to be renegotiated and implemented.
“The situation has been further complicated by the enforcement and persistence of IPPIS on the public universities, even with the directives of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to exit the tertiary education institutions from it.
“Not to be forgotten is our three and a half months’ salaries, which are still unjustly withheld. The arrears of wage awards, promotion arrears, and Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) are also still outstanding.
“At the state universities, our members are still being punished for fighting for the interests of members and the university system. Let me re-emphasise that we stand with our members in Kogi State University, Lagos State University, Ebonyi State University, and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University in their persecution for their principled support and solidarity in the struggle for the defence of the soul of public university education in Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, 14 members who were found to have contributed significantly to the union’s struggle for a better university system and working environment for its members were honoured.
The immediate past Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, and former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Peter Ozo-Eson, were among those honoured.
Others include Prof. Uzodinma Nwala, Prof. Oye Oyediran, Prof. Imeh Ikiddeh, Prof. Sola Olukunle, Tunde Oduleye, Akin Oyebode, Mustapha A. Danesi, Prof. Bright Ekuerhare, Mallam Bashir Kurfi, Mr. S.A. Fadipe, Nasir Hussain, and A.T. Gana.
Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, in his remarks, appreciated ASUU’s leadership for the industrial peace being experienced in the university system.
He assured them of the commitment of the Fund to any cause that would strengthen the tertiary education system for visible socioeconomic growth and development.