Background of the ASUU strike?
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on strike for over six months. It has led to the closure of Federal and State Universities across Nigeria, halting the growth and development of students nationwide.

It started as a four-week warning strike on February 14. By March 14, the union extended the strike by another two months. They then announced a 12-week extension on May 9. The strike has continued with ASUU refusing to back down.

What does ASUU want?
The union is striking against the non-payment of university revitalisation funds promised in 2009. It will supposedly cost the government about N1.1 trillion. However, the Federal Government claims there is no money to pay such an amount.

The union is also striking over the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), which they believe they have improved. They have built an alternative payroll system, the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), and are demanding that the government employ their program instead.

President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, said, “It is not just about wages. It has to do with the system, funding, the structure, the autonomy and other issues; and how to fund universities.”
Resolving the ASUU issue and moving forward
At the root of the ASUU strike is one problem. Funding.
Nigerian education funding does not meet the standard. The education funding in Nigeria has not been up to the UNESCO minimum standard of 26% of the national budget. Using the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin, public budgetary funding for education in Nigeria ranges between 4-13 percent. This level of investment in education is egregious and must be improved upon by the government.

Analysing the demands of ASUU, they are not unbearable. They are reasonable demands from stakeholders who want to see Nigerian education flourish. The Nigerian education sector is expected to deliver optimal results with suboptimal resources/funding. It cannot go on like this.

The government should invite the striking lecturers to meet face-to-face with representatives of the government to discuss the causes of the standoff. The government must also show their commitment to resolving the issues. It is time for the stakeholders in the education sector to meet and discuss a way forward.

Students have been at home for months now. Their futures are handicapped by a government declaring bankruptcy while spending lavishly.

The Federal government needs to drop its negotiating and renegotiating tactics and start working to improve the quality of education through provisions of the necessary education infrastructures.

ASUU is willing to negotiate its reasonable demands from 2009 if the government is honest. So far, the Nigerian government has not shown that it is capable of that sincerity of spirit.