The Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, on Wednesday told President Goodluck Jonathan to wave aside the impression that the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, was politically motivated.
NLC in a statement by its President, Abdulwaheed Omar, advised the President to turn deaf ears to those who instead of telling him the truth, prefer to indulge in sycophancy, hypocrisy and boot-licking.
Titled “Do Not Allow Education Sector to Shut-Down”, the statement called on Jonathan to tackle the crises in the sector and prevent shutdown of the sector.
“As President of the country, he has the onerous task of restoring normalcy to the sector whether the issues are political as he has made the nation to believe or whether they are purely industrial. The threat of a total shutdown is present and immediate and deserves all the urgency and mobilization Mr. President could muster. The developments in the Education sector are symptomatic of greater ills in the polity.”
“The strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), for instance is in its fourth month and has almost certainly disrupted an entire academic session with collateral consequences. Also the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has signalled its readiness to embark on a solidarity strike if government fails to resolve within two weeks the issues of contestation with ASUU.
NLC noted that most of the demands if not all, are not new, but are subsisting agreements which government is expected to honour.
It said some of the agreements border on salaries which government has agreed to pay but has chosen to observe in the breach instead, citing the case with the Senior Staff Association of the Nigerian Universities, whose members are being owed for over three months.
Continuing, Labour lamented that the avoidable strike action by ASUU has caused enough damage to the sector.
“The implications for the polity are grave and should be avoided, at least, for the sake of our children. We also urge Mr President to discountenance the impression that the strike actions against his government are politically motivated as nothing could be farther from the truth. Those who pursue this line of thinking are the ones who do not wish Mr President well. Rather than tell him the truth, they prefer to indulge in sycophancy, hypocrisy and boot-licking because it serves their personal motives.
“In order for Mr President to convince himself about the absence of any ulterior motive against his administration by any of the unions, especially ASUU which has come under accusation, we crave the indulgence of Mr President to insist on being availed the details of these agreements.
NLC added that it is not oblivious of the present challenges in the economy, but it is convinced that with requisite discipline, will, prioritisation and genuine dialogue, the government can reach a truce not just with the union, but could halt the decline in the economy.
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