ASUU: On the path to self-destruction

"One does not fight to save another person's head
only to have a kite carry one's own away"
-A Yoruba proverb
As the Academic Staff Union of Universities'
industrial action entered its sixth month last Sunday,
December 1, 2013, my mind went straight to Ola
Rotimi's Kurunmi, in which the Tortoise's obstinacy
was retold: Sensing that Tortoise persisted on a
senseless journey, he was asked: "Brother Tortoise,
when will you be wise and come back home?" The
Tortoise replied, "Not until l have been disgraced, …
disgraced,…not until l have been disgraced". Tortoise
and the legendary Alaseju must have been created
from the same mould. Instead of heeding advice,
Alaseju pursued his goal to the point of self-
destruction.
Even before ASUU's strike entered its sixth month on
December 1, 2013, the public had started to sing an
adaptation of the famous Beatles song: All we are
say…ing, go back to work. From the beginning,
public opinion did not favour a strike, let alone a
protracted one, partly because strikes have become a
tired and worn-out strategy associated with ASUU
and partly because it would put innocent students in
jeopardy (again!). It really has become a despised
method of seeking redress, especially by university
lecturers, in advanced societies.
Nevertheless, ASUU initially drew sympathy from
some quarters, including me, particularly because of
its main excuse that it was fighting for the students,
that is, for the provision of appropriate facilities in
order to enhance the quality of their education. No
one who has visited any of our premier universities
lately or read the Needs Assessment of Universities
would quarrel with ASUU's excuse. That's why, at the
initial stage, the Federal Government was seen as
the enemy of progress. Implement the 2009
Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding
signed with ASUU, yelled some observers at the
Federal Government.
True, the Federal Government was slow in
responding, but it eventually did in a marathon 13-
hour meeting, led by President Goodluck Jonathan,
with top level ASUU representatives. Stakeholders
sighed in relief when the news filtered to the public
that an agreement had been reached, only for ASUU
to come back with some conditions that must be
met. There, I think, the mockery of the presidency
began and kites began to hover over the heads of
ASUU's leaders.
As the strike action lingered beyond this point, more
and more commentators began to call on ASUU to
end the strike, if only for the sake of the students and
their parents. Many a university Vice-Chancellor also
appealed to ASUU leaders to resume work but they
insisted that the strike must continue. However, in
the process of fighting to save the students' heads,
ASUU leaders have allowed their own heads to be
carried away by kites. As the Federal Government
issued an ultimatum for lecturers to resume work,
the kites lowered the altitude of their flight for a
better view of their prey.
Funke Egbemode's commentary on this part of the
story is instructive: "Now, seriously, ASUU should call
off this strike or do what the FG has commanded.
This handshake has gone beyond the elbow. When a
President sits with a union for 13 hours to resolve an
impasse and the union sticks to its gun, you know
the end won't be in favour of the union" (Sun,
December 1, 2013).
Let me draw on a local experience to illustrate this
point. At Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko,
the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olufemi Mimiko, was
initially sympathetic with the union but was
concerned about graduating students, who needed to
proceed on their NYSC service. So, he appealed to
Senior Professors on contract, who, by the nature of
their appointment, are not members of ASUU, to
serve on an Ad Hoc Committee of Senate to complete
the processing of the graduating students' results. In
sympathy with the striking ASUU members on
campus, the Committee chose to meet outside
campus and relied on Faculty Officers and other
administrators to provide necessary data.
Yet, the Chairman of the local ASUU chapter, Dr.
Busuyi Mekusi, still found it necessary to write a
cheeky letter, insulting those who served on the
committee. Moreover, he would not allow other ASUU
members to provide necessary information to the
committee. His posture during the strike is symbolic
of that of the entire ASUU leadership, which
castigated the institutions that opened their doors
for lecturers for one serious business or the other
during the strike.
What will ASUU do now that some universities have
recalled their students and invited willing lecturers to
resume work? Which part of the cutlas will ASUU now
hold that the Federal Government has decided to
hold firmly to the handle and even to brandish it?
Finally, what sacrifice is ASUU willing to make,
having held the students to ransom for over five
months and screwed the universities' academic
calendars? Is forfeiture of four months salary a just
sacrifice?
It is clear that the options are limited, because ASUU
has disregarded core supporters, who could plead its
cause, and despised even its employers. Asked to
make a sacrifice, ASUU has behaved either like
Tortoise, who refused to offer a sacrifice, or like
Alaseju, who carried the sacrifice beyond the
mosque, as the saying goes. Perhaps the wisest
option left is to go back to work and continue
negotiation with the government. In fact, if I were
ASUU's president, I would have persuaded my
colleagues to go back to work in honour of Professor
Iyayi, who died on his way to Kano to attend a
possibly consummating meeting. I doubt if he would
have committed his life to a fruitless venture, which
ASUU's obstinate pursuit of the strike is now turning
out to be.
This is not to say that the Federal Government is off
the hook. Not at all. It cannot and should not shirk its
responsibility of providing quality education to its
citizens. Many believe that it is still possible for the
Federal Government to explore various sources,
including accumulated funds in the Tertiary
Education Trust Fund and unspent budget funds in
various Ministries, Departments and Agencies. The
Needs Assessment Report produced by the Federal
Government is a document of conscience. No
government, which aims at providing quality
education, should run away from its 189
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Source: punch