₦airaland Forum

Sajio: Oga Sir.......... Did u go thru this?

Sure, I did. If you want to see my responses, please read them here https://www.nairaland.com/1467065/nairalanders-view-nigerian-varsities-infrastructures . If you will be so kind, I will like to get feedback when after you read them.

wesley80: Lol @ stalker alert, absolutely not cos as a matter of fact I'd actually started 'following' your posts. You see in a forum like this and a nation like ours where every statement is viewed through the myopic and narrow prism of ethnicity and political affiliation, honest and intelligent opinions like yours are extremely refreshing to read. I do hope you'll find the time and will to contribute to a variety of topics in the future. About that debate you proposed, well the air seems pretty saturated with the ASUU vs FG war so maybe we all need a breather but if you ever decide to go on with it, I'll be game. Kind regards Prof.

Well said bro, well said. All the best.

slimikenna: saw this comment and decided to share. it may not be very accurate but gives a rough idea of what ASUU is really fighting for.

No it does not. If you have the time, check my responses (and others') to that particular post here https://www.nairaland.com/1467065/nairalanders-view-nigerian-varsities-infrastructures to see how the OP seriously underestimated the cost of running a university. This thing is more complex than that.

Sajio: From all indication..... ASUU is playing politics with the future leathers of Nigeria .. Who knows if APC have not bought them over †̥ frustrate Gej since Boko Haram has failed! But I must tell u this..... Every Nigerians know the game. If Gej is destined †̥ win 2015? All their plans will fail.. ASUU is not fighting for the ppl but for APC/selfish interest... Revolution is a gradual process, Nigerians are no longer fools but have learnt from their past mistakes.. Wht every Nigerians need is PERFORMANCE †̥ win their hrt.

Sir, what makes you believe ASUU is only playing politics? I ask since I have decided to play an outreach role this evening. And are you a student, parent or politician? I am an academic by the way (I hate using the term "lecturer" ). Cheers.

Luxiana19: Will the billions of naira demanded by ASUU put at least one of Nigeria's universities on the list of best 100 universities in the world? If it will, then more grace to their elbows and if it won't ,then may God punish them for suffering us like this.

Look, I'm going to be honest with you: N100 billion will not get us in the top 100. But, if all goes well, it will get us closer. And step by step, I hope we drag ourselves up there within the next decade.

[quote author=Pryme-st*rr]I do get ur point now prof...We undergraduates haven't got any CVs to support our application for meaningful jobs. So you see that it is us the students that bear the greater burden of this disagreement?.[/quote]I honestly agree with you. It is patently unfair that the main long-term losers in all this are the students. Having said that, even the students will benefit in the long term (no, please; no laughter. I mean that). The truth is that, in general, the education we give students nowadays is close to worthless, which is why you mentioned the problem with unemployable graduates. The main reason is this same funding thing. Fighting for better universities increases the chances that you will be better trained (of course there are other problems with the universities, many of them the faults of lecturers. My belief is that in a well-funded system, competition and natural selection will weed out the bad eggs, and that angle would sort out itself).

Now, the benefits to students will not come in a day, so sadly, for final-year students, this strike *could* amount to a waste of time. I am confident however that if the FG performs, students from year 3 down will experience at least some improvements before they graduate.

You know, it's funny when people say previous ASUU strikes have been time-wasting exercises, with students' progress needlessly stalled. Really?? from where I stand, it appears the system is much better than it was just 10-15 years ago. in my university alone, using the most visible metric, there are more new structures in the last 5 years that there were in the previous 20(!). So, ASUU strike is bad news to student, but believe me, in the big picture, the strikes have been pulling the universities forward jerk-by-jerk.

Just my view though, and I always bow to superior wisdom. Cheers.

[quote author=Pryme-st*rr]By recent developments, i mean d constant breach or should i say deadlock in every single dialogue that has taken place in respect to the strike, and the supposed cause of such as stated by both parties concerned. Of recent, an article was released online that the actual amount of funds demanded by the union is N3 trillion. Isn't that outrageous?... And believe u me that if the funds if any, is released, it will never be used for the supposed purpose for which it was released but instead will be shared amongst the inner quorum of those who will think by then that afterall, they alone fought for it.[/quote]Ah, that. Well, I am not privy to negotiations, but I think that when you initiate dialogue with someone and he is speaking what you would term "opata", it's best to stop that dialog until you are on the same wavelength. What do I mean by opata? In 2009, the FG agreed with ASUU that the educational system was in trouble. They agreed that more serious action was needed. FG promised that starting 2012, they would inject 100B Naira, and then 400B annually till 2015. Remember, this money is to revamp the infrastructure of the universities. Remember, government apparently saw the light then and promised this money.

Now fast forward to 2013. No 100B last year. No sign of anything else coming (not even our dear earned allowances ). ASUU decides, as any rational being would, that government is not serious. Goes on strike. Government call's ASUU to negotiate and treats the issue as if its only about earned allowance. They dole out a portion of the allowances, and then try to do sleight of hand with the more important infrastructure issue. If you were ASUU, and you truly believed that the system needed the intervention we claimed in it needed as far back as 2009, what would you do

As to whether the funds would be used for the intended purposes, you are not God. Neither you nor I can guarantee that. I can however assure you that the universities possess the greatest share of principled individuals in Nigeria (why else, as someone has observed, are lecturers always used for election duties globally?). So, that point is moot.

uceee: My view is that ASUU have not utilised the funds available to them well. I.e school fees and all the other funds they generate. Can they then be trusted to make the best use of the funds they are demanding?

Thanks. Your post reminds me of the recent thread here https://www.nairaland.com/1467065/nairalanders-view-nigerian-varsities-infrastructures
The OP's main argument was similar to yours, i.e. that corruption is a major cause of universities' poor states. If you have the patience to go through that thread, you will see that I explained how people often underestimate how much it costs to run a university. Case in point: when I "claimed" that a university could spend up to N20 million on power bills in a month, someone immediately objected that his whole local government area does not pay that huch. Oho? Well, I can tell you for a fact that my university was given a bill of N27 million in July.

Long story short: there is corruption in the universities just like everywhere in this our country, but it (usually) isn't enough to make a big difference. The fact is that tertiary education is just expensive. Check a few posts above where I estimate the facilities of one department that I know in the US at N500 Billion.

[quote author=Pryme-st*rr]Prof. No insult intended...But recent developments has led us 2 believe that it's actually all about allowances and salaries and all that crap[/quote]No offence taken. Can you enlighten me as to the recent developments to which you refer? Once you do, I will be very happy to respond to the best of my abilities.

agrovick: Sir which is more important Primary, secondary or tertiary education? The emphasis ASUU is laying on a better tertiary education is not just it. Primary educatn is the basics and of more importance not tertiart educatn

All stages of education are important. I have averred at multiple fora that most of my students are "damaged" right from the primary school. I have a few anecdotes I could share on that. You are right, it isn't only tertiary education that is shortchanged in Nigeria, which is why when ASUU asks for 26% of the budget, its for *all* tiers of education.

Having said that, the needs of the three tiers are very different. While primary and secondary need mainly very good curricula and good teachers, tertiary education is much, much, much more expensive and requires far more expertise (there are only so many professors in the *world*). In other words, the reason why you hear so much noise about universities is that it is, like I like to say these days, *bloody* expensive. How expensive? There's a department in a global-top-5 university I am very familiar with. I'm doing a honest appraisal of what I think their facilities are worth, and I think 500 Billion Naira is about right. FOR ONE DEPARTMENT in a US university.

bheegsam: Also, is the strike still justifiable at this stage? Should ASUU sheath its sword and embrace dialogue? What can the student union bodies do to stem the tide of insensitive, sadistic and unrealistic self-seeking actions of the university lecturers year-in, year-out?

I am an academic (a "lecturer" ) and I have decided to spend some time over the next few days educating students and other stakeholders about the important issues surrounding the ASUU strike. OP's view of academics, as revealed by the excerpt from his post above, seems to be one that is very popular among students, which is unfortunate, as it is, for the most part, wrong.

To borrow from something I wrote elsewhere on this site, it is true that there is a selfish element to ASUU's strike (only to the extent that every other Nigerian is selfish, because if you don't fight for your entitlements in this country, you will never get them). However, there is a much bigger issue at play. For the sake of our future, we need to get education (especially tertiary education) right. Fact is, tertiary education is VERY expensive, and this being Nigeria, nobody wants to pay for it. Not the government, Not the students, nor their parents.

When people hear ASUU suggesting that Nigeria should spend closer to the UNESCO recommendation on education, they scoff as if there is something they know that we don't. Can you explain how GHANA (of all places; not even the US) and South Africa manage to spend such huge portions of their budget on education? And yet, the students we produce are supposed to compete with the products of those places (as well as those from the real global powerhouses, lest you forget). Let me tell you something. With the way our two educational systems are set up, Ghana has laid the foundation to be Nigeria's big brother in the next few decades. And it has started. We are already seeing a brain drain to...Ghana!

My friends, I could say, with no melodrama intended, that the current fight for tertiary education is a fight for the very future of our country.

Contrary views welcomed.

Greatihex: . Heiii, if u say 20million. I totally disagree wit u. Even my whole local govt neva pay dat amount 4 power.

Haha! I wish I could frame your response, mount it, and present as Exhibit 1 of the kind of attitude (and ignorance) most Nigerians bring to this debate. Well, my brother, READ MY LIPS: For July 2013, my university (if you press me, I will relent and mention the name) had an electricity bill of over 27 million. And I don't even think the students were around for most of that month.

So what do you have to say now? Do you agree now that you guys don't appreciate how huge an undertaking it is to run tertiary education?

wesley80: ... Finally, i thought it unfair to single out and respond to just part of my entire post. Didnt the other parts contain anything worth responding to? Come on now Prof.

Hello again Wesley80. Sorry if I failed to respond to your other points. I didn't want to respond to you at all (lest you sound the stalker alert ) but I couldn't resist taking one last dig on just the one issue. Anyway, when two intelligent people have two passes at reconciling divergent views, it's time to agree to disagree. All the best.

carujmonella: Sorry, I generalized. I shouldn't have done that

Keep up the good work prof, glad to have your type around

Thanks. I have a personal mission to get Nigerians to learn to discuss and disagree within the limits of civil discourse, and anytime I meet a like mind, I feel reassured that I am not alone. I am spending a good chunk of time online today because NASU has put the whole place in lock-down mode...

All the best.

jaryeh: these are the top ranking universities in the country. And the surprising fact is that these are the schools that charge the lowest fees. Then what are the other schools with highest charges doing with it.?

Thank you for your observation. It gave me cause to pause and think. I believe the explanation lies in the somewhat unfair-sounding principle that we often encounter in life : "to him who has, more will be given, and for he who does not, even that which he has shall be taken".

I'll explain further. I work in one of the top universities in the country. Anytime there is a grant or intervention for my region, you can be sure we will be one of the first targets. My university got a reputation as a leading ICT light, and believe me, most of it was a result of donations and grants from foreign bodies.

I suppose what I'm saying is: the good universities get a lot of IGR from goodwill and clout, thereby helping them remain good, and allowing them take excellent but poor students. The "poor" universities...they're pretty much on their own. Stuck with students who can afford to pay their high fees (but not guaranteed to be excellent students).

Conclusion: your observation is not necessarily due to corruption; its all about a self-fulfilling prophesy thing: good schools get helped to be better, poor schools charge high to remain poor.

gboss4sure: The best system is to make the university's independent of the Government, Let every School run the school from the money they generates. For Christ sake this people make millions from students every year. If not for corruption they money made from students cam be used to run each school effectively.

Humor me. How much do you think it costs to run a university? Do you know that the power bill of most universities per month is more than N20 million?

Actually, I do tend to agree with you that universities should be cut off government's apron strings. But will the students pay for what their education is truly worth? If you want to know what is is worth, get a global average.

jaryeh: Sir,@ prof femi ,are you trying to defend ASUU because you are a member?

I am a "member" of ASUU only by default. I do not attend meetings because there are some things I don't agree with. So, nope, I'm very much a free mind who stands for what he believes in.

To answer your questions briefly:
The big question here is what are funds generated from the various fees used for?
Ans: They are used for running the university. Tertiary education is VERY expensive. Don't listen to me; check what it costs globally to fund education (of course I acknowledge that a portion gets lost to corruption just like everywhere else in Nigeria, but in the universities I know, that portion is negligible)

And do you think ASUU demands can really be implemented considering the present state of the economy?
Ans: it depends on what demands we are talking about. If it is the 3 tr, NO. And I don't think ASUU really expects 3Tr just like that. The idea is that Government shows serious interest in jerking up funding. As an aside: people think Nigeria cannot afford to spend above 20% of budget on education. Do you know that Ghana (GHANA!) is spending much more than that? No wonder many of your colleagues are now running there.

Has the strike strategy as means of fighting for their rights worked over the years?
Ans: Yes. It is strange, but nobody seems to notice that the universities are better than a decade ago...

If no,then why has ASUU decided to deliberately suffer the students?
Ans: see answer above.

carujmonella: I have one lecturer that sells handouts and don't teach but sets exams and expect his students to pass. Some don't teach untill a week before exams and he will stewpidly show uo and summarize what NO ONE understands.

Simple. In a better-funded system with high quality graduates waiting to take their jobs, your lecturers would be fired in a heartbeat. And that would be justice.

carujmonella: this idiiots called lecturers won't still give quality education to their students, all they are after is driving latest SUVs, collect "sorting and runs" money, sleeping with female students and building houses.

I am sorry for you if that is the kind of lecturers you have to put up with. But please don't generalize and call us idiots. There are some of us who are as good, or just a notch below our colleagues in Harvard and MIT, and we consider doing this job a sacrifice. For those of us in that category, your statement is an insult.

@AK 48:
You have spoken well,as did the OP. However, I had to stifle a smile reading through your posts. The way you have done your calculations is the way business neophytes do their calculations and end up with unreasonable expectations of profit.

Is there corruption in the universities? Of course! But it is not more than at the level in other sectors, and nope, it isn't the real cause of the problem at hand. The real cause is simple: proper tertiary education is *bloody* expensive, and this being Nigeria, nobody wants to pay for it. Not the government, which seems bent of on washing its hands of all responsibilities; Not the students and parents who lament that our universities are not in the same league with the Harvards, while conveniently forgetting that proper education anywhere (even Ghana!) costs much more than they are paying for it!

There are a number of points I can make about your posts, but as I am writing for an audience that seems to hate reading anything longer than a paragraph, the following will suffice:

- OP: so you think that when a student pays N10,000 for hostels, most of it is profit? Who pays for the electricity of your student who views the use of a hot plate as a birth right? Who pays the cleaners and other support staff? Hostel warden etc? How much do you suppose it takes to maintain a building? If you've never built one, consult those who have; you will be surprised, especially when the inhabitants of that building are students. How much does it cost to maintain transformers, supplying the hostel? etc. etc. There are many things you overlooked. If you want to know how much a bed space *actually* costs, go and find out how much commercial spaces outside campus go for. By simple laws of demand and supply, that is closer to what a student's space costs. I can bet you my seized salary that it is not N10,000.

To paraphrase Isaac Asimov, "there is a single light of [truth], and to brighten it anywhere is to brighten it everywhere..."

Over the last few months that ASUU has been on strike, I have encountered a wide range of responses from students, parents, colleagues, and other stakeholders. It is true that as with most things in life, the problem of education in Nigeria has many facets and agents. Nevertheless, of all the various narratives, ASUU's remains's closest to the truth.

Don't agree? Fine. I can stand people who disagree with me (in fact, I sometimes seek them out so I can learn). And, yes, there *is* a selfish element to ASUU's strike (to the extent that essentially every Nigerian is selfish, because if you don't take care of yourself in this country, nobody will). However, there are bigger issues at play. Anyone who reduced the matter to "ASUU are selfish fools" is either being mischievous, ignorant, or both.

In more civilized places, people often resort to debates to present their views and compare them with others'. I have noted that there seem to be a number of intelligent folks on this forum who are especially pissed off with ASUU. Well, I'm throwing down the gauntlet to any number of you who are interested: If I have takers, I will create a thread to allow us debate the problems of Nigerian tertiary education and the roles of the various players. Rather than resorting to cheap sensationalism and name-calling, let us marshall the facts in a civilized way, and let those who truly care about this country learn.

wesley80: By the way, ASUU just started sharing FG'S 30billion naira to lecturers which is about a years outstanding allowance to make the strike bearable for its members. In other words, you're suffering alone and the strike is set to last longer.

This is disappointing. You peddled this same story on a thread you opened and I took pains to explain to you why it is untrue. You concluded by saying that you preferred a more sensational title. Well, my friend, the sensational and the false share the same zip code, and I'm afraid that what you're doing now is just spreading of blatant falsehood, despite the fact that you have been informed clearly to the contrary. I get it that you guys are pissed off with ASUU. However, you don't have to resort to lies to get your point across.

Thanks. I'm an ardent believer that you can disagree with someone and still be polite, so I appreciate your response.

Having said that, your title says "*ASUU* disburses...". As others have noted, ASUU does NOT have the power to disburse funds. Even in the one case you cited, it was the university administration that disbursed the money. I'm confident your intention was not to cause mischief but to provide useful information to Nairalanders. Consequently, I think you will have no problem considering the following:

- You know for a fact that money has been disbursed in ONE of over 50 universities. By any statistical measure, this is not enough data to generalize. A more correct conclusion from what you know is "One university's ASUU disburses Fg's funds To Lecturers"

- But, as I have stated, ASUU does not disburse funds. So I think a more apt title is "One university disburses FG's funds to lecturers".

Thanks again.

bodejohn: If truly ASUU is seeking a step change in our universities, how about some sacrifice from them, can the lecturers tell the government to keep all their salaries for the period they will be on strike to show that they are selflessly pursuing advancement in our ivory towers.

For the records, I strongly believe in no-work-no-pay, not just for ASUU, but everyone. Anyone who wants to go on strike and disrupt others' lives and activities would surely count the cost and ask himself how well he believes in the cause. So, yeah, I should not be paid*

* I am not even going to cop out by arguing that teaching is less than half of my job. Even during this strike, the demands of my research have kept me properly overworked and stressed. But yeah, don't pay me.

The title of this post thread says "ASUU Disburses Fg's N30b To Lecturers". If OP is sincere, he should take that down because it is not true.

I am an academic, and not only have I not been paid, I agree it would be morally wrong for me to collect such and still be on strike.

The FG did release some of the allowances owed *all university staff*. The universities offered to pay the money to all staff concerned, including ASUU. In my university and all others that I know, ASUU discussed the issue and obviously saw the moral trap being set by the FG. They declined.

The other unions have been itching to get their share, and it wouldn't surprise me if what happened was that due to this pressure, a university decided to pay all staff.

Saint Chukz: Anyway what's all this sermon for in the first place, when we know the likely outcome of such a move.

Given your last post, I am sorry to have to disagree with your view above. You are right, we know the likely outcome of such a move. Indeed, I suspect the universities will not even allow so many students in, in the first place. AdaEze may not know it, but resolving this strike the way ASUU wants is in the interest of the university administrations themselves.

Having said that, Nigerians are usually guilty of killing off bright ideas because they think they know how it will all pan out. The truth is, many a bright idea morphs into something entirely different (but equally potent).

So, to answer your question: just sitting here, I can think of at least 3 ways in which her idea can fork, and lead to a situation where the world's media will beam their lights on the Nigerian educational system (and students) - in a positive way.

What she advocated is the sort of thing we expect to read about from the US or from some oyinbo country but, naay, it can never happen here. One reason why her post resonated so strongly with me was that just yesterday, I was telling someone that if you moved the students and academics from the top US schools to work in Nigeria (in the very same infrastructure-deprived environment), they will turn the thing around in a short time. They will first attack the problems that prevent effective teaching/learning, and go from there.

I am not an advocate of eugenics; I do not mean to suggest any genetic superiority at play. The simple thing is, they are taught to attack and solve problems, while we always believe we know the likely outcome of any original idea.

Saint Chukz: @ Prof. Although i quite acknowledged her ideas were ingenious...but by what you have stated here, are you trying to mention the obvious - That her own ideas are not in anyway a form of protest? Or are the Arabs the originators of protests? Don't protests occur all around the world? The only difference i noted is that her's were a deviation from the norm. And when i say i see a revolution looming, it doesn't mean it must follow the same violent path that we have become acclimatized to. Anyway what's all this sermon for in the first place, when we know the likely outcome of such a move.

Please do not twist my words. I did not "try to mention the obvious, That her own ideas are not in anyway a form of protest". I think I see why you may be a little miffed: one of your previous posts mentions the Arab Spring. Believe me, I didn't even see the end of that post, so my mention of Nigerian youths trying to copy the Arab Spring was *not* a dig at you, direct or indirect.

Of course her suggestion is a sort of protest, and I never gave any indication that I thought otherwise. I also did not make any statements that could be construed as a thesis on the origins or types of protests. Obviously, my mission was to praise originality over recycling/modifying others' ideas, and for that, the Arab Spring was apropos for more than one reason. Thanks.

mistaebube: sis, make i continue the advise from where you stop)......... afta we(student) ve finished teaching ourselves, we organize d exams, mark d scripts, hold our 'personalized student senate' meeting to finalize d semester exams record.....,we cud even mobilize tons of nysc batches for service....., thereafta, we cud proces admission list for new in take........so doing, help in finally collapsing the educational sector..... haahhahahahahahahahabububuahaha.........

If AdaEze's post is an example of an attempt at problem solving, yours is the quintessential Nigerian response: laugh at an intelligent and original idea because it has obvious flaws. My brother, if your saw some of the world-changing technologies you use today in their original form, you will be disappointed. The best ideas always start off with kinks which, given the ingenuity that led to the idea in the first place, are usually solvable.

Solving a problem the intelligent way is hard, no doubt, but doing so almost always yields pay-back beyond the scope of the original problem. The easy way is to just take what others did to solve theirs and adapt, hence so many Nigerian students cast envious looks at the Middle East and wish a Nigerian Spring would wash away all our problems (and hence the renewed emphasis on protests).

If all Nigerian students (and lecturers!) thought like AdaEze, we wouldn't even be having this strike action.

Adaeze003: Instead of a protest, why not reassemble in our schools and start learning? Can't we demand our libraries and departments be open so that we can have access to materials? After all non-teaching staff are not on strike and the schools are federal and state properties! Not the lecturer's.

Our final year students can teach the 3rd yrs, 3rd years teach the 2nd yrs and so on. The final year students can also access the wifi(for schools that have) and do their project research.

Truth is, the FG don't care and neither does ASUU. Protesting will lead to violence and our police men who know next to nothing on how to handle such issues will shoot and kill innocent people. And we'll stay even longer. So, why not try something different?

The radio n tv stations will take note of this(if they don't we'll drag their attention) and report it on the news.
This can work if we're serious enough. And will go a long way in hastening this process by touching the heart of some of our lecturers.

My take...

One suspects that most students will scoff at your suggestion. Indeed, implementing it would be challenging, to say the least. Nevertheless, IMHO, your post is the smartest I have seen from a student over the last few weeks for one simple reason: it proposes a problem-solving approach to the issue: it's *original*, *creative*, *positive*, and *can-do*. I likey.

Of course, the devil is in the details, and I assure you that this one has many kinks to be worked out. But: if it can be pulled off, this can cause quite the positive upheaval, and empower Nigerian students like nothing I can think of.

Sure, I am an academic, and by definition, representative of the people you stand against. Sure, you've got one of two misconceptions (ASUU cares; don't believe all that crap that we're all selfish old men). However, students who actually grapple with problems in a positive, creative way are so rare in this country that when I meet one, I'm always happy to encourage them.

Your proposal will not lead to the strike being broken, but if you students can pull it off, it could be the start of something tremendous...

Keep being a problem-solver (and not a whiner like most of your colleagues )

mumumugu: no doubt,it was signed in 2009 by the late yaradua administration who is unfortunately nor around to actualise what he signed.

The so called agreement was imposed on yaradua by aasu.

Aasu drafted a book stating what they wanted..failure to comply resulted in oveer Two months strikes.
There was no negotiation.no discussion...is that an agreement?

You get ur fact right

Hi. Surely, someone as informed as yourself knows that there is no union called "AASU" in the universities?

Your viewpoint is similar to the one of the poster in this thread: https://www.nairaland.com/1415045/when-politicised-ASUU-call-off . If you sincerely want to hear a different view, please check out that thread.

U235weapongrade: Prof(Engr)Femi,10x for your contribution on this thread,I really enjoyed all ur responses especially doze directed to "unsincere9jarian" who sees everytin dis GEJ administration is doing as the best...

Tanx for shedding more Light on the controversial 92 or 87 billion Naira allowances..

To the MODs on this Education sector - Thumbs Down....Dis shud have made FP so dat students ask esteemed Prof.Femi questions concerning ASUU strike and a whole lot of things about tertiary education in Nigeria..But maybe u people have still made a wise choice,if dis went to the FP so many people might have abused dis priviledge- I trust NLers...

Thank you once again our able professor on nairaland,I'm sure ur not the only professor or ASUU member on Nairaland- God bless you and your Family..

Btw Y don't u attend ASUU meetings...

Thank you very much for your kind words. I'm sorry I won't be able to discuss my reasons for not attending meetings on this forum. Suffice to say that there are things in the system that I am unhappy about, and with the quality of those who *do* attend meetings, I am confident that my not attending will not adversely affect our collective (local) positions. Thanks again.

Sincere 9gerian: It appears you didnt read my post before responding. I said ASUU is demanding for additional N400billion. If you add that to the N400billion already budgeted for education, it gives total of N800billion alone for education, out of N4trillion national budget.

Mind you, this an economy that is in dare need of over $200billion worth of investment in infrastructure to meet the current infrastructural gaps.

I do not underestimate the need to invest in education BUT we have to balance that with other VERY essential needs. Those who graduate from universities will have to be employed or create employment but without the basic infrastructure this economy cannot absorb the graduates being churned out from our universities. There must be a balance. We have to fund education and at the same build infrastructure so that when people graduate from universities they can find jobs

Forgive me, you're right, I didn't pay attention to the fact that it is an additional N400B. But even with N800B, my logic still stands. You agree that education needs investment. I think where you (and the government) get it wrong is you don't seem to realize just how much investment is required.

I randomly mentioned South Korea earlier, so I tried to do a quick Google search on them. I couldn't give more than a few minutes so I came up with just a little (others with more details can chip in) but check out these two links:

1. http://asiasociety.org/education/learning-world/south-korean-education-reforms
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_spending_on_education_(%25_of_GDP)


Quoting from the first, "The government also shows a consistent commitment to investing in education: The Ministry of Education has a budget of US$29 billion, six times what it was in 1990. This accounts for about 20 percent of the central government expenditure. Koreans, as well, are willing to spend on education."

The second link shows in clear glorious detail how serious our country takes education. And remember, those who want to leapfrog need to spend even more than the already established guys.

So, to answer your question, even N800B is not too much if we know what we are doing. Mind you, the figure is for EDUCATION, not ASUU. Finally, I believe ASUU got that figure from the UNESCO guidelines, and the figure is meant to be one that government can negotiate. Meaning: ASUU probably isn't even asking for the whole amount. This is clear as the 2009 agreement stipulates how government is to increase funding to education gradually till the target in met around 2020.

My summary is this: Occam's razor tells us that when there is a simple solution, we needn't look for conspiracy theories. Perhaps ASUU leadership are in cahoots with APC. Who knows? BUT that is moot because the explanation for the current impasse is straightforward, and needn't be politicized: our government has no clue when it comes to the importance of education.

Thanks for your comments, and I must also thank you for making our discussion civil. All the best.

Sincere 9gerian: Its unfortunate how you try to dodge the ASUU demand for another N400billion. I provided you with two separarte links, yet none is sufficient for you. Maybe you'r ashamed of admiting that ASUU's demand. Anyway, whether you admit it or not ASUU is demanding for another N400billion, not just for this year but on annual basis. That is N800billion alone for education, out of N4trillion budget for 160million people. Is that FAIR on the rest of Nigerians that are yearning for basic education, good health care, good roads, portable water, railways, stable power,etc. Is that FAIR? Because the rest 160 million Nigerians cannot go on strike does not mean they do not have demands

And by the way, I can't avoid noting that your view here is so simplistic as to be disappointing. What is happening here is not that everybody is trying to cut the biggest portion of the national cake to himself (hence your view that it is not fair for "the rest" to have a smaller share). In the history of nations some steps lead to rapid growth while others lead to decline. What is happening here is not a "sharing" but determining what facet of Nigeria needs to be invested into heavily to make us the new South Korea (please go and find out why that country is suddenly "reigning". Hint: Education. Investment). Are you saying you do not agree that the way nations develop is by investing heavily in education and research