Academic activities were disrupted and students left to ponder their futures on Monday as the strike called by the Academic Union of Nigerian Universities began across the nation.

ASUU voted to down tools on Sunday after the Federal Government failed to honour its 2009 agreement to adequately fund universities in the country and implement the 70-year retirement limit for its members.

Our correspondents reported that a majority of the lecturers failed to report for work at 10 universities. They are University of Benin, University of Jos, University of Port Harcourt, Anambra State University, Federal University of Technology, Akure and Cross River State University of Technology.

The rest are Delta State University, Rivers State University of Technology, Ekiti State University and University of Ibadan.

However, the University of Ilorin, Enugu State University of Technology, Azikiwe University, Awka and University of Nigeria, Nsukka branches backed out of the strike.

Chairman, UNILORIN ASUU, Dr. Saad Omoiya, confirmed the non-participation of the branch in the strike.

He said they did not participate because they had not been relating with ASUU’s national body for over a decade.

He, however said, the reason for the strike was general.

Omoiya said, “We are working. For over a decade, we have not been relating with the ASUU national body. Their instructions do not mean anything to us. We want to say that the reasons for the strike are general things. But for the fact that we have not been relating with them, we are on course. We did not join in the strike.”

One of our correspondents observed that the FUTA lecturers did not teach the students who had earlier rushed to their various classrooms for lectures as early as 6.30am.

Secretary of the FUTA branch of ASUU, Dr. Bola Oniya, said the strike would be sustained until the government implements in full all the agreement it reached with the union in 2009.

The ASUU Chairman, UI branch, Dr. Olusegun Ajiboye, said the strike was total.

The university community, he said, had already been sensitised to the development through the University Community Radio station (Diamond 101.1FM).

Most lecture halls were firmly shut at Delsu as only a few lecturers were seen driving out of the school complex.

It was learnt that the strike might also affect the marking of the exams of the students and the processing of students’ document for the next batch of the National Youth Service.

The Chairman of ASUU, RSUST branch, Dr. Felix Igwe, said members of the union complied with the order because the issues being canvassed at the national level were in the interest of the state university.

The Chairman of ASUU, UNIPORT branch, Dr. Kinikanwo Anele, told one of our correspondents that there was a total compliance to the strike in the university.

But things went on normally at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka where the lecturers shunned the strike.

The chairman of ASUU, Dr. Jaja Nwanegbo, said his members had no choice but to join the strike because it was a national call on them.

Our correspondent, who visited the Ekiti State University campus, observed that the EKSU chapter of ASUU complied with the directive of the national secretariat to begin the strike.

It was learnt that some students in Psychology and Geology departments were already seated for their exams but were driven out by some unionists.

The development was said to have almost led to a protest from some of the students but the timely intervention of security men and some university officials prevented the staging of the protest.

The President of ASUU, Prof Ukachukwu Awuzie, told the News Agency of Nigeria that there was “no going back until government showed some level of commitment to implementing the agreement.

Awuzie added, “Government had firmly assured that they would look into the issue in November and we were all hopeful that they would do something, having signed the MoU.

“We are surprised that they still could not live up to their promise yet again, maybe they are just playing games with us.”