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For lazy readers like me, this is a summary of the write-up below (but I do plead with you to read through as much as you can)

1. I am an academic and I want to inform people about the issues at stake; I have only honest motives

2. Tertiary education is extremely expensive but nobody, government or parents, wants to pay for it

3. If money is not injected into education (especially tertiary education), not only will we remain a perpetual developing country, but Ghana may become the sub-regional power

4. The selfish part of our strike is to demand for allowances that we have *earned*, and that government promised. However, the part government finds most difficult is the part where we demand for what they consider outrageous amounts to improve our infrastructure

5. People sometimes demand that ASUU shut up and put up with current working conditions, when it is these same conditions that prevents the system from employing the exceptional lecturers that will put an end to the problems such people observe.

6. Regretfully, students are the ones who suffer the most from the strike. It is true that it places endless suffering on them, however, there is a silver lining because most students will end up benefiting in some way

7. Students do not need to idle away the time during the strike. They can turn the loss into a net gain of sorts.

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A. WHO I AM; MY MOTIVES

1. You’re a lecturer and you’re here to speak candidly about the ASUU strike?

Yes. However, I dislike the term “lecturer”. I see myself as an academic. I only used the word in the title to ensure that all Nairalanders know what I am.

2. So why are you here?

I have been going through comments about the strike on this site for some time, and I got to a stage where I couldn’t take it in silence any more. As a teacher, I am never happy to see ignorance around me. “All that is needed for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”.

3. Is that why you have been dumping long answers on Nairalanders for two days?

Yes. It is my intention to wipe out as much of the ignorance as I can. I have tried to insert myself into various threads, hoping that one of them would catch fire and get hundreds of comments. However, not many Nairalanders have engaged me. I have felt like Hrothgar in the Beowulf movie, shouting “…fight me, dammit!” at people, but I guess the “prof” in my username, coupled with the huge power distance in Nigeria, discourages students from engaging someone they consider an elder. Of which I feel like telling them: “dude, this is the internet. I could call myself Bill Clinton; doesn’t mean I am number 42!”.

4. So you’re a spokesman for ASUU?

Not at all. I am here only in my capacity as a teacher who is passionate about the future of this country, and who wants to educate people about the issues at stake. I am a member of the union, but I am also a man with very strongly-held beliefs. My views and the unions are not always coterminous. Having said that, I believe in the current strike action.

5. You seem to be going for the record of longest post in Nairaland history. What makes you think people will read this garbage?

I doubt that most people will read more than a few lines, and that says something about the state of our education, as most Nairalanders are educated to the tertiary level. For me however, this is a labor of love. If only one person goes through, it would have been worth it.

6. Is there anything you want to say to those who decide to read part of it?

I suspect most of you came here with the belief that ASUU is a greedy pack of so-and-sos holding you back. That’s fine. What I ask however is, if you are going to read this at all, do so with an open mind, and decide for yourself what is happening here. And please don’t quote the full post in your responses, otherwise Seun might need a new hard disk!

7. Is this a real interview?

Not really I have used a question and answer format to make a painfully long write-up more readable. Also, I have tried to group the answers into sections which people can jump to as they wish.

B. WHAT ARE THE MAIN ISSUES?

8. Why won’t ASUU let us rest? Na only universities? What about other tiers of education?

Thank you. As I pointed out elsewhere yesterday, all tiers of education are important. In many ways, the foundational level is the worst in Nigeria. As a teacher, I see students entering my classes who cannot do well because they have been wrongly programmed since primary school. Having said that however, the needs of tertiary education are unique. While all levels need excellent curricula and intelligent, motivated teachers, tertiary education requires money in loads, among other things.

9. How much money? Give us an idea

Elsewhere on this site, I estimated the value of the facilities of an electrical engineering department in the US at N500 Billion. Since not all courses are equally expensive, let’s say a university should have 50 departments each with facilities worth just N50 billion. That’s 2. 5 trillion Naira for just one proper-run university.

10. Dem don come again o. Are you now suggesting that FG dole out 2.5tr to each university?

No. I’m just giving you an idea of how much REAL tertiary education costs.

11. Okay. Why can’t we cut our coat according to our cloth and fund to the level we can?

See, that’s the problem right there. There is one single global market. Nigerian graduates have to compete with products from US universities. And that’s not just in the US. Increasingly, they will have to compete even right here. The only reason Nigerian companies do not employ more expatriates is that they cannot afford to. Yet. So, there really are no half measures. We either provide proper functional education, or we end up wasting the lives of our students for 5 years (and what is more, ruining their self-confidence and creativity in the process).

12. But despite this your story, the universities have been working for years na, and people have been getting jobs.

Good. There is a difference between a country that simply wants to subsist, and one that wants to become a global power. Ask just about any Nigerian, they will tell you we are the Giant of Africa, we want to be a top-20 country. Well, the education we provide is barely enough to maintain Nigeria as a perpetual developing country, ever dependent on others. Is that really what we want? ASUU does not think so.

13. But there are other important sectors of the country. Do you want government to abandon other sectors just to face education?

Nobody is asking for others to be abandoned. However, we are asking that greater emphasis be placed on education, and we are not ashamed to say that. Every sector of the economy needs highly skilled workers.

Look, what is the point of living if one cannot learn from the experience of others? EVERY SINGLE COUNTRY that has become a world power has done so by FIRST developing education, especially tertiary education. Is it so hard for us to learn from others? We don’t need to write the book on nation-building. It’s already been written many times. All we have to do is learn from those that have done it. What is the sense in turning your back on something with a 100% success rate?

The thing that pains me most is that I just realized in the last few days that Ghana has positioned itself to be a global power and Nigeria’s big brother in the next few decades.

14. Come, how can you say such a thing? Ghana?

Yes. I have lots of friends in the US, and they usually view Ghana as a saner, more intelligent (albeit laid back) version of Nigeria. I always object to that view, but recent events are making me wonder. See, Ghana seems to have gotten the message that to get ahead, you must invest in education. While we are here bickering, they are silently injecting the UNESCO recommendation into education.

15. Abegi, Ghana can never become better than us. Sebi we know their universities.

Well, history begs to differ. Give them 10 years of funding education at that pace and let us see.

16. Oro ti po ju. In a nutshell, what are the main issues ASUU is fighting for?

Tertiary education is VERY expensive and VERY important. However, nobody wants to pay for it. The parents do not want to, and government does not want to. But *someone* has to, or this country is doomed.

C. WHY IS ASUU SO SELFISH?

17.Hmm, abeg leave that thing. We know ASUU is fighting for their earned allowances, nothing more.

Let me say something very clearly. The government agreed to pay us those allowances mainly because they do not want to incur the cost of employing as many staff as universities actually need. People say lectures are lazy, and I suppose they have lecturers close to them that fit that bill. Me however - and many people I know - I am almost always overworked. Even Sundays. So, I am not ashamed to say that government owes me that money and I have every right to ask for it.

However, if this were just about the allowances, I’m sure it would have been settled by now. The fact is, the bigger battle is that the government wants to dodge the 1.3 tr bill between 2012 and 2015 for infrastructure, along with other expensive aspects on manpower development. Most of the argument is about that.

18. So if government gives you your full allowances now, you won’t call off?

I can only hope not. If we did, we would be selfishly mortgaging the future of the country for our own gains.

19. Okay, we get it, but why can’t you guys dialog and let government phase things out? You know the country has many problems?

This is a very common suggestion. What people don’t realize is that ASUU *ALREADY* did this. Back in 2009, the heavy infrastructure development aspects were phased from 2012 to 2015 to give government more room to plan. Now we are here 4 years after. Little has been done. ASUU has to conclude that government is insincere. Unless ASUU has *strong* reason to believe government this time, why would it start long story about phasing again when they have shown they cannot be trusted? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”

20. So you are saying ASUU must get everything now

Look, I’m not on the negotiating team. But I believe that if by some means, ASUU gets to believe that government is sincere, certain concessions will be made. But a necessary precondition is that we get a feeling that government and Nigerians understand the enormity of the issues facing us as a country with respect to education.

21. You’re trying to form as if ASUU doesn’t like money. Aren’t you guys already well paid?

Yes, we are relatively well paid, at least compared to the late 1990s when a GA got a salary of N3000! However, there is something people don’t get about the salary thing. Part of getting a good tertiary education system is to recruit the brightest graduates as academics. How many first class students do you know who decide to pick up lecturing jobs? Very few, and those are usually the few who consider the job a calling. Outstanding graduates rarely consider lecturing as a serious option.

22. What are you saying o?

When people complain about the quality of their lecturers, it never occurs to them that you get what you pay for. If the salary were good enough to attract the best minds year-in, year-out, we wouldn’t be where we are today. So in a nutshell, there is good reason to pay academics well: so we can attract the requisite brilliant graduates.

23. Ehen? We should increase the salary of your inept bottoms?

Let me assure you that if the conditions of service are good enough, competition and natural selection would weed out the “inept” lecturers, along with the fabled sadists and sexual harassers.

24. Someone placed the ASUU-FG agreement online. You guys are just enjoying man!

Look, I had to laugh at many things in that agreement. Car loan? You’ve got to be kidding me. My school pay for my sabbatical trip with my family? Hmm. Maybe next lifetime. Many of those things are window dressing that I suspect the ASUU negotiation team themselves knew government would never do.

25. So you’re saying lecturers are holy-holy. Can you bet your life that ASUU is not being controlled by the opposition parties?

No, I would be foolish to. But having said that, Occam ’s razor tells us that you don’t need to look for a convoluted answer when there is a simpler one that works just fine. ASUU does not need to be in league with the opposition because even as an apolitical member of the union, I fully realize the deep crevice our country is skirting. We need urgent intervention in the educational sector. It just so happens that since the government is not serious about the issue of education, it forms another cudgel for the opposition to hammer them with. That’s not our fault, and it does not mean we are in league with them.

D. WHAT IS IN IT FOR STUDENTS?

26. Okay, you have said so much, but not a single mention of the students. Do you realize that they are the ones who suffer the most?

You are right, and I feel embarrassed that I would instigate an action whose major casualty is neither myself, nor my adversary. It is truly unfortunate, but the fact is that in Nigeria, there is no other way to apply pressure on the government. I have personally thought long and hard about this, and if anyone figures how to get the government to do the right thing without going on strike, you will be my hero for life.

27. Yes, yes. But do the students have anything to gain from the strike? As someone asked, is there any benefit for students in ASUU getting its allowances?

Let’s be clear: students have no direct gains from us getting our allowances. And we shouldn’t be apologetic about that. Of course there are some negligible indirect benefits to them, but that’s not the point. It should be clear from what I have said above that the bigger fight is about infrastructure and manpower development in the universities. If government does the right thing, then over the long term, students will benefit directly from the strike. Unfortunately, I cannot see how most final year students will benefit in any way (because implementation will take time), but students in the third year and down should see some benefits.

28. Abeg joo. We have been seeing so many ASUU strikes and they have never borne fruit.

Haba! That’s not true. I think this is down to a failure of ASUU’s PRO machinery. The universities are much better than they were 10 – 15 years ago, and it’s largely due to pressure from ASUU. There is much more money being pumped into the system now. As I mentioned elsewhere yesterday, more structures have been built in my university in the last 5 years than there were in the previous 20!

29. Na building we go chop? How does that affect students?

That’s just one example. I know our labs are still not there yet, but in my department, the number of students clustering round lab setups has reduced by more than 300% in that time. Internet access is now a given in most universities (which most students don’t know is quite expensive. My university now pays close to 100 million Naira per year on Internet access).All of this is not to mention the fact that your lectures are now better remunerated, and good ones are more likely to stay. I’ll be honest with you: if the salaries had stayed at the old levels, I would have been long gone. And I like to pretend I’m an asset. So, ASUU strikes have been yielding fruits.

30. So what advice do you have for students whose lives you are wasting?

Hmm. When I come across a student who says ASUU strike wasted his life, it tells me more about the student than it does about ASUU or the FG. Look, a university polishes and amplifies what you have inside you. If you have nothing (no initiative, no creativity, no industry), then ASUU strike is the least of your worries. Yorubas say “ta ba gun’yan ninu epo epa, eni to ba ma yo ma yo” (even if you pound yam in a groundnut shell, some people will find a way to get filled).

Please use this period as a personal test. Right now in my department, ASUU strike or no ASUU strike, we have undergraduates who report for work every day developing themselves. Some of these guys are doing the same things their peers abroad are doing. So, develop yourself. Learn something that can complement your formal education. Get involved in a business, and figure out how you class theories might be applied in it. Contribute to society. Volunteer in a nursery or primary school (if you do nothing else, please do this). Whatever you do, never wake up to watch movies and gist.

There is a martial art called aikido in which you use your opponent’s kinetic energy against him. Be an aikidoka. Use whatever comes your way, including ASUU strike, for your own progress.
Best of luck!

Speechless...







Assu open d strike na.... ♥

nice write up! I really enjoyed it. But it reeks of bias and insensitivity to plight of the grass bearing the brunt of the two elephants fighting on it.

marvelling: nice write up! I really enjoyed it. But it reeks of bias and insensitivity to plight of the grass bearing the brunt of the two elephants fighting on it.

Thanks for reading. I'm however surprised you think it is biased and insensitive, especially since I framed questions 26 to 30 from a student's perspective.

Prof Femi @ it again..

Good Day Prof.I have been waiting for something like dis from you..

Mods bikozienu FP let students engage Prof on issues concerning the ASUU strike.

.

R

@ Mr Op, I want to believe that the affected universities in one way or the other remits/return some huge funds back to the FG either annually or per session. Now, can't all the affected schools literally sit un-top(to seize) these funds and tell the FG to do the right thing hence the funds wouldn't be released to them. If this is however possible I believe with the backing of the Labour union, human right activists and even we the students this strategy would yield positives. Please sire! Educate us more on this line of action.

NB: I read the whole article.

so much revelation..thx prof

I really enjoyed the article but why FG looks down on education which is the pre-requisite for better future.

SUMMERY PLS

The prof has thrown down the gauntlet. I have always been a staunch believer in the gospel of this ASUU strike, so I fall in the "as mentioned" category, however, I think you left out some of the important benefits of the strike to the students.

1. What is the benefit of attending school when "graduates" would still need years of moulding to be able to function in the least? half-baked, somebody? Effectively, what is worth doing at-all, is worth done best.

2. In furtherance to the above, not only the students will get reap the fruit of better education, the society will work better too. I'm not a member of ASUU, at least not for now, but I convinced we share the same view on this point.

etc etc...

Thanks, U235weapongrade, olu_kenzo, appliedmaths, and others.

@appliedmaths, sadly, I don't know of any substantial funds that the universities remit to FG, so I do not think we can "catch" them there. Even if there were such funds, the universities would not dare seize them, since they depend on monthly allowee from FG...

prof if you like talk from now till eternity, nothing for ASUU. Lazy herd of greedy blockheads.

All is well

oxford: prof if you like talk from now till eternity, nothing for ASUU. Lazy herd of greedy blockheads.

Okay.

Prof these ur interview is too long. But i keep asking one que, all the money each university mkes from,eg:- pume,pude,pg, hostels fee, & others. What are they using it for? Can't they tke frm there

@ Prof. You made mention of the fact that the current Final year students wouldn't benefit from the current ASUU strike, I also believe the current 300L students (sadly which I belong to) wouldn't really benefit from the strike too. But my question is this why did ASUU not allow the current Final year students write their Final exams and graduate peacefully instead of frustrating these lads. I see this as sheer wickedness. You people got this one wrong, I tell you most parents whose children are currently in their Finals now have doubled their labour just to be able to meet up with their needs. The elapsed time has eaten deep into their pockets, go the market you'll see aged men and women (60-70) telling you how ASUU have destroyed their plans because they see no reason why their Final year children were not allowed to complete their programme and come home in peace. I don't know what nonsensical and un-professional point ASUU wanted to prove, but I tell you ;you people got this one wrong. This is my own side of the story.

Summary: ASUU should have allowed the Final year students complete their programme. We the 300L students downwards can understand the situation and peacefully relax in our various houses without breaking a sweat.

Fabulousuzo: Prof these ur interview is too long. But i keep asking one que, all the money each university mkes from,eg:- pume,pude,pg, hostels fee, & others. What are they using it for? Can't they tke frm there

Sadly my dear friend, not everything in life ought to be summarized. Which aspect of my write-up is superfluous?
As to what the universities are doing with the money they generate, please go through this thread: https://www.nairaland.com/1467065/nairalanders-view-nigerian-varsities-infrastructures . I believe my posts there (as well as others who posted with similar views) should answer your question. You will have to balance your dislike of long stories with your desire for the truth.

Appliedmaths.:
ASUU should have allowed the Final year students complete their programme. We the 300L students downwards can understand the situation and peacefully relax in our various houses without breaking a sweat.

Yes, others' choices often appear baffling and cruel unless you try to walk in their shoes. As you very well know, the Nigerian educational calendar is all over the place. So, which university's final year students should ASUU have synchronized with? In any case, in some instances (particularly Law and Medicine students), some universities have made off-record, under-the-table moves. Surely you've heard rumors of universities conducting examinations and inductions? They're not rumors.

@ prof, sire! Of a truth we are certain that the current ASUU strike isn't and wouldn't affect the politicians (polithiefcians as we normally call them ) who are the main cause of this madness. So please sire! let's soft pedal on ourselves (ASUU, the affected parents and students) and not further harm ourselves. We know the FG is incompetent and wasteful but at least just in-case of a next time ASUU should direct all universities to graduate their Final year students (2nd semester) irrespective of the timing of the strike action. I'm sure those in their 1st semester final year would be able to understand the situation.

prof.femi:


Thanks for reading. I'm however surprised you think it is biased and insensitive, especially since I framed questions 26 to 30 from a student's perspective.

Prof. Nice insight but based on ur students perspective, it'z very demeaning really. Take 4 instance, i'm a final year student, engaged in project research, how is the strike a benefit 2 me coz right now i'm in between the devil n d deep blue sea... *project stalled coz my project surpervisor won't attend 2 me; in his own words, "i'm on strike", no gainful employment because i'm practically n funny enough literally lacking in requirements. No capital 2 engage in a personal endeavor if i wanted 2 coz unfortunately i'm not of an affluent background. U even said something about taking up teaching in a nursery/primary school, tell me, how can we possible achieve that feat when even the more qualified and certified teachers are being laid off for 1 reason or the other as the public are always made 2 believe when in actuality it's all because they cannot be paid so instead the majority are retrenched while the minority who are being retained are excessively overworked for the same amount or even lesser remuneration.
Simple n short prof. the strike is more of a curse than a prospective blessing 2 the STUDENT BODY joor.

Thanks prof 4 ur timeout...

(1)What about some universities that re left out of ASUU's strike for instance, Unilorin and others that have already opted out of the strike?

(2)Let assume govt released the #400b,re the universities I mentioned earlier gonna have their own share?

(3)What is ur take on these; Intimacy, sales of shoddy handouts outrageously, extortion b4 marks could be given?

(4)What is the use of the internal revenue generation by d schools?

Pryme-st*rr:
Simple n short prof. the strike is more of a curse than a prospective blessing 2 the STUDENT BODY joor.

Appliedmaths: ASUU should direct all universities to graduate their Final year students (2nd semester) irrespective of the timing of the strike action. I'm sure those in their 1st semester final year would be able to understand the situation.

@Pryme-st*rr: I agree with you that for students in your category, there's no bright side to this strike. I can only say "sorry about that". Actually, as Appliedmaths has suggested, it is possible to go on strike and yet allow certain categories of students through. I have made similar arguments in the past, arguments that, were I to repeat them here, you would surely think I am merely grandstanding. ASUU members who hear of this idea often balk at the level of effort and ambiguities this would introduce to a strike action. However, I am of the opinion that even if a strike action is inevitable, we should do our best to put a human face to it.

prof.femi:

Okay.

abide by ur own employement agreement (terms of appointment) which is to teach and to get paid. If have 'bright' ideas on how to commit trillions to the university system( and please stop confusing this with the educational sector), resign, contest election and then commit all our national budget to only the universities.

ASUU and strike are thesame. I lost two years because of useless ASUU strike. What do they even teach sef. Most lecturers just come to the class read direct from books like news casters. ( pls stop refering to urself as an academician).

SHAME ON ASUU

@prof femi

Why should state universities also join in the strike?

Please overlook all of the reckless statements being made by some posters who do not know how to air their opinions without resorting to insults.

ennon92: What about some universities that re left out of ASUU's strike for instance, Unilorin and others that have already opted out of the strike? Let assume govt released the #400b,re the universities I mentioned earlier gonna have their own share?

Hmm. Unilorin is, for me, a thorny issue. They benefit from every ASUU strike, but don't get to do any of the dirty work. There is some history to this, which I won't like to go into. There is a certain element of monkey-dey-work-baboon-dey-chop element to it, but personally, I just believe that posterity acts as a filter that sorts out everything.

It's important to stress that ASUU is not this cult-like organization where everyone agrees to everything. all shades of opinion are usually expressed at meetings, and it is no surprise that some universities would, for whatever reason, decide not to take part in the strike. I am not here to judge whether that is right or wrong.

I have laid out the facts to the best of my abilities above. Let Nigerians decide whether ASUU has reason to take government on or not. If we can't make the system better, them no tie our leg down here, abi?

What is ur take on these; Intimacy, sales of shoddy handouts outrageously, extortion b4 marks could be given?

I guess this is a trick question Of course nothing you mentioned has any place in a proper university. In my opinion, fund education well and put pressure on us to deliver. Those of us who do not deliver or who err, ship us out!

What is the use of the internal revenue generation by d schools?

It will be hard to answer this in a few words. Different universities use their IGR the way they see fit. If you want to know whether it is true that they embezzle most of it, I cannot fully speak to that. While there is inevitably going to be some losses due to corruption (this is Nigeria..) I have also seen enough to know that most people have no clue about how expensive the sundry aspects of running a university are.

oxford: What do they even teach sef. Most lecturers just come to the class read direct from books like news casters. ( pls stop refering to urself as an academician).SHAME ON ASUU

Thank you all the same. I think you have said enough for people to get a good idea of the value of the education you got from your university.