₦airaland Forum

ASUU STRIKE WILL LAST 2 MORE YEARS..
And Why ASUU 2009 agreement MUST Not Be Honoured By Govt.

**ASUU are asking for elongation of their maternity leave, housing loan, sick leave, injury pension, vehicle loan, car refurbishing loan, allocation of University lands to members.....

It is now apparent that ASUU leadership, not their members do not want to go back to classes after the government has released N200 billion for infrastructures and N130billion for their undeserving bonuses and allowances.

Extract from their meeting with Senators (close Door).
ASUU: “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 included postgraduate study grants, staff schools, and compulsory retirement age”.

ASUU demanded that landed properties around their Universities should be allotted to their members as part of employment benefits.

In all, ASUU demanded for a whopping N1.5 trillion expected to be paid within three years of 2009 to 2011. (about 34% of the entire nation's financial budget, capital and recurrent)

Senator Sola Adeyeye, a former lecturer, asked ASUU during their meeting: “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,” he added. “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?”

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. - Senate President, David Mark added.

From 2009 to 2011, ASUU want N1.5 trillion and 2011 to 2013 another N1.5 trillion, totaling N3.0 trillion (over 78% of Nigerian budget).

According David Mark, we should blame those that signed this agreement in the first place. In other way, looking at it in broader perspective, we need not to blamed them that much. We should blame Nigerians and their impatience. We should blame Nigerians who are always in the habit of putting 'fire on the government' any time any group is threatening for strike, without looking at the issues objectively. That means that, government representatives always sign agreements under duress and for peace to reign and to please the masses.

Lastly, on this N3.0 trillion demand by ASUU, did anyone see where they mentioned improving learning conditions? ASUU's agreement NEVER mention that we need to build more hostels, lecture theaters, laboratories, Libraries, classrooms, cafeterias, improved transportation system for out-of-campus students. It is all about ASUU, ASUU and ASUU. How on earth will ASUU ask for bonuses for producing graduates that employers of labour always brand unemployable?

ASUU leaders should tell Nigerians why all their negotiations of late, are done behind close doors, if truly, University infrastructures are their sole aim of embarking on the current strike? - Hope For Nigeria.

LIKE www.fb.com/hopefornigeria Page, if U have not done that already.

https://www.facebook.com/hopefornigeria/posts/626379307420195