Lecturers of the University of
Lagos on Wednesday complied with the directive of the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) to its members nationwide to begin a one-week warning
strike. A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who visited the university
campus reports that students were found milling around and idling away, as
lecturers stayed away from classes.
A 400 level Civil Engineering
student, who simply identified himself as Biodun, pleaded with the federal
government to intervene and accede to the lecturers’ demands. “The lecturers
are fighting for us. “Government should please listen to them because I will
not like a repeat of the 2013 protracted strike. “I knew how much the 2013
strike cost me,’’ Biodun said. Dr Adelaja Odukoya, Chairman ASUU University of
Lagos chapter, told NAN that he was impressed by the level of compliance of his
colleagues in the university to the strike directive. According to him, the
union will remain resolute in ensuring that the strike is total.
He said that
the union was agitating for the interest of students, their parents and
development of the education sector. Odukoya said for the nation’s universities
to remain relevant and be globally competitive, they must embrace standard best
practices and do what others were doing. “ I am very happy with the total
compliance of members in this branch. “However, a few of them, who wanted to
test our resolve by attempting to enter the classes for academic activities,
were quickly called to order. “We hear the National Assembly is calling for a
reconsideration of our action and come over to dialogue. “I do not think there
is any seriousness in the concern they are showing now. “We have been doing
everything possible to hold dialogue on these issues raised and each time we
try, it is promises or even outright silence. “We are not happy that we are
declaring the strike because we know how badly it affects us.
“But since no one seems to bother
about the situation in our university system, then we have to rise up to the
occasion,’’ he said. The National Executive Committee of the union had on
Monday declared a national warning strike at a news conference in Abuja to
press home some demands. The union President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, had said
that the strike would begin nationwide in all university branches on Wednesday,
Nov. 16. He said the union was unhappy that the Federal Government had refused
to honour its 2009 agreement with its members. Ogunyemi also cited the denial
of staff entitlement in respect of earned academic allowance amounting to N128
billion, among others, as necessitating the action.
Source : Vanguard
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