“When the world around us changes for the worse, it’s not the snap of fingers which will bring it back to the earlier position, it will take courage, thinking, teamwork and sacrifices to bring normalcy to the chaos” – Shahenshash Khan.
It is globally acknowledged that education is the bedrock of development and the most important instrument for sustainable all-round growth and development of the society. Higher Education is the key driver; as it drives the creation of knowledge and innovation which are vital in ensuring national and global prosperity and competitiveness.
For a country like Nigeria, education is the heart of the quest for national development as higher education stakeholders particularly Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are at the front burner to ensure that the inherent values of education is tapped.
University education and system which is run on universal flow of knowledge, and movement of person and materials is anchored on it sacred mandate; teaching, research and community development. University lecturers are human capital developers. Academic union within Nigeria hemisphere are regarded as the vehicle and promoter of University sacred mandate.
Without reservations, I commend the National ASUU under the leadership of Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi for galvanizing all members of this union across the nation at this phase of our national life where the handlers of the Federal authority is merely playing the ostrich to issues that are imperative to nation development.
University education in Nigeria is in severe multi- dimensional crisis’s. Lack of acknowledgement and exercise of her peculiarities in all facets of university life which culminates to academic freedom and autonomy, enabling laws and general operating environment, conditions of service and funding makes ASUU to have intermittent chronology of economic and industrial dimensions of conflict with the landlord’s which control the pastures of which ASUU as a shepherd used to feed her sheep (students) to meet up to global expectations. This conflict snowballed most at time to strike.
The current strike embarked upon by ASUU is a necessary evil in spite of the fact that the sheep under her care is academically famished. This strike is largely due to the lack of commitment by the pastures warden on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) and memorandum of action (MOA) entered by both parties and the worst of all, the vermin called Integrated Payroll & Personnel Information System (IPPIS), a centralised system which they claimed is meant to help government to plan and manage payroll budget and personnel management.
ASUU in its firm resistance to the introduction and implementation of IPPIS has repeatedly claimed that it runs contrary to the principle of autonomy which is enshrined in the extant laws which governed the university system. ASUU also assert that is antithetical to all known universal practice for university administration as the tradition of centralization will slow down the nature of some needs and operations of the university. University should organise a flexible payroll system because of their program and procedures of doing things.
Internationalisation is a major criterion for universities ranking globally.
So, IPPIS will localised the universities because universities are universal cities of learning and research where scholars come from different parts of the world to enrichment programs and give our university International aroma.
Federal Government underpinning on IPPIS is that with it, it will check mate academic staffs and their desires to lecture in more than two or three universities as they don’t know that they are some discipline that demand professional personnel e.g Nuclear Physics, Health Physics, Neuroscience, Neurosurgeon etc because the world is going technological.
Lecturers listed in two or three universities is not a global sin as it helps boost the profile of the school. Even in check mating, university regulatory framework can be implemented for example Bayero University Kano Governing Council agreed that lecturers that must opt in for teaching aside the main placement must be within a certain movement radius.
With the current experience about the usage of IPPIS, it can be said that it is a facade: Angelic are the plans, demons are in the details which makes it to be riddled with corruption. Staffs under it purview complaint grievously that their financial entitlements is not what is obtainable time past as they is unaccountable deep cut.
IPPIS approach with then mean public university education will be market driven which has to be paid by market value (Neoliberalism). By this, there will be an exorbitant price on school fees charges in which only few can be able to afford such. This will have adverse effects on students from a low income background thus, causing lack of accessibility to university education and increasing illiteracy level in the society.
The Government is vehemently adamant to the proposal by ASUU to develop an alternative model – University Transparency and Accountability Solutions (UTAS) which accommodate the peculiarities of the university and as well enhanced transparency and accountability in all financial matters.The current disposition of the government – No IPPIS, No Pay is something that shows that they have a poor skills in managing industrial disharmony on grey facet of their labor life.
Worse still, Nigerians Academics are among the worst paid in the world and that by merely withholding their salaries in a centralised paying system, the unthinkable can happen in their public engagements.
National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), National Association of Universities Students (NAUS), National Students Union Council and the League of Students Union Presidents, and other stakeholders and union bodies within the university must rise to the occasion and challenges of this negative realities as it must be nip in the bud.
This phase in our higher educational life as a nation is dicey as both the Students (The Sheep), ASUU (The Shepherd) and the handlers of the pastures (Federal Government) are deep neck in the ocean of impasse. It takes high level of working understanding, negotiation skills and compromise to navigate through this dangerous bend and chart a better direction for ourselves with a compass that has a unblurry future in focus.
The Federal Government must renew their interest and commitment to the sacred mandate and ethos of university ways of life without this, the ceaseless honey in our ivory tower will not be scoop for the benefit of all.
They must recognized and respond to the current students population dynamics and how instrumental they are if their potentials are appropriately tapped with all the enablers in place if not, demographic disaster will be the order of the day. They must increased their budgetary allocation and act in congruence to the 26% minimum to universities as recommended by UNESCO.
Education for a nation that cares is the one in which the handlers of the pastures without resistance releases the pastures to the shepherd to feed the sheep. The handlers must understand that them holding the key to the treasure vault is transient as the shepherd and the sheep relationship outlived (Psalm 23: 1-5).
I, Emmanuel Eneojo (EnesWright), and other concern citizens strongly advocate better university funding, the revitalization of the system, the removal of unwholesome financial resources engagements under any guise and the unnecessary proliferation of universities which lack substance for institutional accreditation.
ASUU must at this point purge herself from any stigma which stuck on their white cloth thereby coming out pristine.
ASUU is an ideology that can’t be decimated, ASUU is trans-generational, ASUU is a child of a necessity. Crying endures for the night but joy cometh in the morning. Ewndu Akenyo(Igala Mantra) – Everything will turn out good and fine.
– Emmanuel Eneojo (EnesWright)
400l Student, Department of Political Science,
Federal University Lokoja.
