Note: much of dis write up has been removed..most nairalander won't read if its too long.. So let's go straight to the point.


ASUU is strong. It has the capacity to carry out long strikes, keep students at home and get them to pressurise their parents to pressurise the President to sign a deal. Presidents through the ages have all been forced to sign, but signing is
the simple issue, implementation has always been the bane of policies in Nigeria. ASUU is weak because its too
focused on grandiose victory that often yields little in real results. The fact of the matter is that the Nigerian Government is irresponsible and never fully implements deals it signs. The. struggle for a responsive and accountable government is amuch larger one and goes far beyond the ASUU struggle.
ASUU must go into introspection and learn what every
trade unionist knows, gains in the struggle are never total,they are always incremental.
The key question in the faceoff is finance and financial
matters are addressed in budgets. The President proposes budget estimates but our Constitution gives power to the National Assembly to make the budget. Let’s reflect on Nigeria’s budgets. Budgets are laws, which our Constitution says must be fully implemented by all governmental agencies.
We know however that since 1999, no budget of any
government ministry, department or agency (MDA) has ever been fully implemented. The Federal Universities are government agencies and their expectations that the agreement they have, which is not even a law, must be fully implemented, is correct in principle but does not reflect current practices. It is despicable that Government signs without any intention of full implementation but we need to start asking ourselves whether strikes will change the course of Government business.
In 2004, President Obasanjo introduced a new fiscal policy based on what is called the “oil price rule”. Each year, the government sets a pre-determined price for petroleum at a level that would be certainly lower than the market price.
The government then saves the difference between the pre-determined price and the actual price to build foreign reserves and create confidence in the economy. Based on this criterion of fiscal prudence, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) authorised its Policy Support Instrument (PSI) for Nigeria in October 2005.
The agreement with the IMF on fiscal policy was done
surreptitiously and Parliament was not consulted. The
Obasanjo regime therefore made commitments on
significant cuts to public expenditure without the accord of the Nigerian people. This treacherous act of the regime in cutting funds for social expenditure is celebrated in many IMF and World Bank reports.
It is the on-going policy that no appropriation shall be fully disbursed and implemented.
President Goodluck Jonathan brought back a certain Ngozi Okonjo Iweala to continue this policy. The fact of the matter is that the macro-economic policy framework of the Presidency is to continue to curb investment in the social sector, in particular, on education and health. Progressives must engage this struggle with zeal and on a wider front but its resolution cannot be the basis of re-opening our universities.
The prognosis of the ASUU struggle is clear, Government will eventually be forced to commit to full implementation,ASUU will go back to work and receive arrears for the months of work not done and Government will once again renege at the level of full implementation. It will take ASUU two more years of massive mobilisation to get lecturers back on strike and the cycle continues.
ASUU must start a conversation about a profound change in tactics. More minimalist and attainable targets must be set and advocacy must be broadened to address the National Assembly and other institutions. My ASUU comrades, the struggle is our life but this does not mean that we cannot get real. Did BJ not tell us in 1980 that there are two struggles, one for the university system and another for a progressive Nigeria?

Dr. Jibrin Ibrahim is executive director at the Co

Source: PremiumTimesNg

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