ASUU STRIKE: No Amount Of Threat Of Forceful Reopening Of Universities Will End The Strike

As leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) meet with President Goodluck Jonathan today, the union has said the President lacks the right to arbitrarily reopen the universities, which were shut down following the union’s national strike. ASUU was reacting to reports that the President had directed the reopening of universities with or without ASUU.

Its Chairman at the University of Calabar (UNICAL), Dr James Okpiliya, spoke yesterday with journalist in Calabar, the Cross River State, on the matter. He said: “The President has no right to reopen schools. In the first place, he did not close the schools. ASUU also did not close the schools. If he likes, let him direct the vice chancellors to reopen the universities. But the issue is that academics will not return to the classrooms until all the issues in the 2009 agreement as well as the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the union and the Federal Government are sufficiently implemented.

“In the military era, the Head of State never used force to resolve its impasse with the union; not now, when we are in a democracy. If he opens the schools, he can come and teach in the universities. If he uses brute force, as it is rumoured, he can as well return to the classroom to teach.

“I advise him to sit down sincerely with the leadership of ASUU with a view to resolving the knotty issues in the implementation of the 2009 agreement and the MoU. These are the main issues in contention in the current struggle.

“I believe Mr President has not been adequately briefed; that is why he has been insinuating that the strike is political. The meeting should, therefore, afford him the opportunity to hear from ASUU himself with a view to resolving the issues.

“Remember the strike itself would not have been avoidable if those who midwifed the negotiation of this agreement had it captured in the previous budgets. But because they failed to put the financial implication of this agreement in the budget since 2009, we find ourselves here today.

“The only thing that can bring about normalcy is when the issues in contention are resolved.”

The ASUU has said no amount of threat of forceful reopening of universities will end its nationwide strike.

The union said the government’s threat would only be counter-productive rather than achieve the intended goal.