The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is gradually losing sympathy from the general public. Reason: The union’s perceived “un- implementable” agreement with the Federal Government in 2009, which has ground operations in the nation’s universities since July 1 is causing ripples. Last week, the Senate expressed grave concern on the protracted strike by ASUU and urged the university lecturers to return to the classroom while effort is being made to meet their demands. However, a number of Nigerians were angered last week by the revelation of details of ASUU’s agreement with the government in 2009. For many, the demands were not only outrageous but that such demands were neither made nor paid to lecturers in any part of the world. It was alleged that those who negotiated and signed the agreement on behalf of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua’s government at the time had thought that it would be immediately implemented and hoped to benefit from it. Otherwise, it has been alleged that hardly would anyone in his right senses agree to such demands. Against this background, Senate President David Mark expressed shock on the content of the agreement during a motion on the strike on Wednesday. According to him, those who signed that agreement with ASUU were not only unfair to the nation but were also a bunch of ignorant persons, “who did not know their right from their left.” Details of ASUU demands as contained in the agreement and read on the floor of the Senate last Wednesday showed that the lecturers were asking for maternity leave, housing loan, sick leave, injury pension, vehicle loan/car refurbishing loan, postgraduate supervision allowance, teaching practice/industrial supervision/ field trip allowances and honoraria for external moderation of undergraduate and postgraduate examinations. Other demands were postgraduate study grants, external assessment of readers or professors, call duty/clinical hazard, responsibility allowance, excess workload allowance, staff schools, provision of office accommodation and facilities, pension of academic staff, compulsory retirement age, formation of university pension fund administrator, National Health Insurance Scheme and funding of the universities.
In all, ASUU demanded for a whopping N1.5 trillion expected to be paid within three years of 2009 to 2011. A breakdown of the proposed payment plan is as follows: N472,031,575,919 in 2009; N497,331,778,701 in 2010 and N548,768,190,681 in 2011. ASUU also demanded that each state university shall require N3,680,018 per student for the period between 2009 and 2011. [b] To underscore the level of the perceived outrageous demand, Senator Sola Adeyeye (Osun Central), who is also a former lecturer, said he almost wept when he saw the agreement signed
by the Federal Government with ASUU, saying there is nowhere in the world where such allowances demanded are paid to lecturers. Adeyeye, a professor of Molecular Biology and senator on the platform of the AllProgressives Congress (APC), who ordinarily was expected to be sentimental in his submission, having been a one-time member of ASUU and simultaneously anopposition lawmaker, opted to put sentiment aside and hit the nail on the head. According to him, there is nowhere in the world where the central government is asked to fund state universities. He also added that it was whimsical for professors to be asking for allowances beforesupervising postgraduate students. “I asked ASUU during one of our meetings: is there any nation where any of such allowances is paid according to international standard? A typical teacher teaches two courses in a semester for three hours a week. You are paid salaries, why should you be paid again for these other things? Where in the world are lecturers paid examination allowances? Where is a professor paid allowances for supervising postgraduate students? Why is he a professor in the first place? What you cannot ask for in other spheres ought not be asked for here.
“The standard practice in the United States is that if you go on sabbatical, you ‘ll be paid for six months; if you spend more than that, you have to fund it yourself. Where in the world do you say the Federal Government should be involved in the funding of state universities?” Adeyeye queried. [/b] Still expressing shock on the content of the agreement, Mark said: “I was really wondering whether this was signed or it was just a proposal. But when he concluded, he said it was signed. It only shows the level of people the executive sent to go and negotiate on its behalf because ab initio, people must be told the truth, what can be accomplished and what cannot be accomplished…ASUU took advantage of the ignorance of those who were sent and simply just allowed this agreement to go on because it is obvious that this is going to be a very difficult piece of paper to implement.” At any rate, a number of people have argued that
if the quality of education will improve upon the implementation of the agreement, the federal government would have been encouraged to shift ground. But some educational consultants have alleged high level of negligence of duty by ASUU and submitted that the demand is in contrast with what obtains in the universities as there are allegations that lecturers are absent in most classes and busy consulting for foreign organisations while project supervision is haphazardly done. The end result –half-baked graduates are produced.

[size=45] tired of reading about ASUU & FG [/size]

At any rate, a number of people have
argued that if the quality of education will improve upon the implementation of the
agreement, the federal government would
have been encouraged to shift ground.
But some educational consultants have
alleged high level of negligence of duty
by ASUU and submitted that the demand
is in contrast with what obtains in the
universities as there are allegations that
lecturers are absent in most classes and
busy consulting for foreign organisations
while project supervision is haphazardly
done. The end result –half-baked
graduates are produced.

Bereal247: This prof. is free-minded. Despite all his affilliations, he still stood on the side of truth. People like him are what Nigeria needs to move forward.

yelsew80: Something tells me if some kind of investigation is carried out to investigate the circumstances surrounding the FG's signing of that agreement something sinister would be discovered. There's just no way a literate person would read that agreement and not be shocked at its one sidedness and how outrageous it is - NO WAY! That the government was not able to extract a SINGLE area they can point to as their own side of the bargain makes it all the more curious. Perhaps ASUU must have consulted some high powered "dibia" to hoodwink Gamaliel Onosode and his group of 9 former vice chancellors and Pro Chancellors who Yaradua had selected to negotiate onbehalf of the FG.

pompori king:

What rubbish!!did fg use blind people during the negotiations..goodluck dey spend billions on food our senators are among the highest paid in the world the oil money wey dem dey share among themselves nko
Now the same bast*rd fg are making it sound like its ASUU's fault.they signed an agreement find how to settle with assu and stop all this propaganda

~Bluetooth:


Sack them and employ new people besides there are several umemployed graduates roaming the streets of Nigeria . Give them the necessary training and I'm sure they will outdo these redundant striking lecturers.

alubeze1: The demands are outrageous, no doubt. But if our political leaders are the highest paid in the world then why can't our educationist also be ther highest paid in world? After all, education is the bedrock of every society, and if the w www.thisdaylive.com/articles/ASUU-s-arm-twisting-agreement/162728/ orkers are paid well, they will be motivated to teach well. All thesame, ASUU and fg should renegotiate.

alubeze1: The demands are outrageous, no doubt. But if our political leaders are the highest paid in the world, then why can't our educationist also be the highest paid in world? After all, education is the bedrock of every society, and if the workers are paid well, they will be motivated to teach well. All thesame, ASUU and fg should renegotiate.

taharqa:
I am highly impressed by Prof Adeyeye; and it is honestly relieving that my faith in the Sane-ness and objectivity of the opposition in Nigeria has not been completely destroyed. That a few persons can still put the nation before other Considerations and Persuasions.

Like Prof Adeyeye, I was an early supporter of ASUU both here on NL and offline, cos of a longstanding Principle of mine: parties should keep AGREEMENTS freely entered into by both parties. But I have had to change my view in the last one month as I began to realise the details off this truly INCREDIBLE Agreement and Govt's concessions to ASUU.

And, 2 things have become clear by now: those Govt officials who openly signed that Agreement the way it is are truly IJIOTS of the very 1st rate; AND, as I was telling someone recently, the only difference between today's ASUU and Boko Haram is that one of them kill (apart from that, both are EXTREMIST in their demands and outlooks).

May God help this country.

omenka: Agreement na agreement!!!
They should collect the loots from Alams, Ibori, Obj, Atiku, IBB, Abacha, Timipre, Patience Jonathan, David Mark, Dan Etete, Aondokaa, and co, and pay up the damn allowances, and fund the damn institutions!

kasiem: why did gowon fail aburi agreement and u guys are praising him for that?

gregg2: All the members of FG delegation to that negotiation team should be investigated.

Demdem: [b]If not for Foolish and miserable leaders of which Jonathan was a chief player when the agreement was signed we wouldn't be where we are today.

As beautiful as the agreement is i have always been uncomfortable with FG funding States universities (that is my only issue with the agreement). I wont Blame ASUU because as a Union, the interest of its members and constituencies comes first.
In our individual lives, when we negotiate, we make sure we position and present ourselves on a positive footing to get the best and that ASUU simply did and should be praised for doing a good job. They caught the killer party by the balls.

Having said this, an agreement is an agreement. The idea that its not implementable is pure rubbish. As long as our govt continue to have enough resources for frivolities like food, cars, gates, foreign trips, presidential jets, NASS expenses, executive recklessness running into billions yearly, only the extremely foolish will believe such crap.
UNICEF recommends 26% of a country's budget to education, as it is today we are not even close to half of that. For me, 20% to education should be the starting point.

Here to me is the way foward from this stalemate.

1) Considering the fact that our govt has to live to his words and responsible, Jonathan should immediately implement the full details of the agreement since day 1 when it was signed till Oct 31st 2013. The govt is bound to abide by its signed agreement. u dont change the goal post when the play is ongoing.

2) ASUU should immediately call off the strike as soon as (1) is done.

3) Jonathan should immediately call for re-negotiation of the FG/ASUU agreement to reflect current global practices and country's capabilities.

(3) should never be implemented before (2) because it will cause a very bad precedence and (2) should never be considered before (1) because the FG will term his citizens has fools. they all should follow sequentially as i have proposed.

Hopefully by the time we get to (3) Jonathan will ensure that far more smarter peeps than him will be employed to negotiate on behalf of the FG. ASUU will always have good representations no doubt.[/b]

yelsew80:
Since the first day you came crying into this world you've never made sense! Your arguments in totality are always an insult to literacy, even the most significance of the most basic arguments somehow manages to dodge your fish brain, Demdemoron go get help!

Demdem: [b]If not for Foolish and miserable leaders of which Jonathan was a chief player when the agreement was signed we wouldn't be where we are today.

As beautiful as the agreement is i have always been uncomfortable with FG funding States universities (that is my only issue with the agreement). I wont Blame ASUU because as a Union, the interest of its members and constituencies comes first.
In our individual lives, when we negotiate, we make sure we position and present ourselves on a positive footing to get the best and that ASUU simply did and should be praised for doing a good job. They caught the killer party by the balls.

Having said this, an agreement is an agreement. The idea that its not implementable is pure rubbish. As long as our govt continue to have enough resources for frivolities like food, cars, gates, foreign trips, presidential jets, NASS expenses, executive recklessness running into billions yearly, only the extremely foolish will believe such crap.
UNICEF recommends 26% of a country's budget to education, as it is today we are not even close to half of that. For me, 20% to education should be the starting point.

Here to me is the ay foward from this stalemate.

1) Considering the fact that our govt has to live to his words and responsible, Jonathan should immediately implement the full details of the agreement since day 1 when it as signed till Oct 31st 2013. The govt is bound to abide by its signed agreement

2) ASUU should immediately call off the strike as soon as (1) is done.

3) Jonathan should immediately call for re-negotiation of the FG/ASUU agreement to reflect current global practices.

(3) should never be implemented before (2) because it ill cause a very bad precedence and (2) should never be considered before (1) because the FG will term his citizens has fools. they all should follow sequentially as i have proposed.

Hopefully by the time we get to (3) Jonathan will ensure that far more smarter peeps than him will be employed to negotiate on behalf of the FG. ASUU will always have good representations no doubt.[/b]

alubeze1: The demands are outrageous, no doubt. But if our political leaders are the highest paid in the world, then why can't our educationist also be the highest paid in world? After all, education is the bedrock of every society, and if the workers are paid well, they will be motivated to teach well. All the same, ASUU and fg should renegotiate.