Anxiety, More Headache for Tinubu's Govt as ASUU Announces Strike is Impending

• ASUU has been agitating for improved funding of the education sector and better welfare for their members
• Legit.ng gathered on Tuesday, May 21, that the union may have finally decided to embark on a national strike
• With its 14-day ultimatum expiring on Sunday, May 26, ASUU has asked the Bola Ahmed Tinubu government to act quickly to avert the impending industrial action

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering education in Nigeria and worldwide.

Yaba, Lagos state - The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said it would declare a nationwide strike anytime soon.

This follows the Bola Tinubu government’s refusal to meet ASUU's demands despite consistent appeals.

ASUU ready for nationwide strike

The Nation newspaper noted ASUU's stance in a report on Tuesday, May 21.

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Similarly, Legit.ng sighted a report by The Nigerian Tribune which said a nationwide strike looms.

Addressing reporters during a press conference at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Professor Adelaja Odukoya, the coordinator of the Lagos zone of the union, stated that the union was fast losing patience over the government’s alleged insensitivity.

Odukoya noted that most of the issues mentioned had been unaddressed by the government for many years.

He dismissed the threat of a ‘no work, no pay’ by the government, adding that the policy is unknown in global labour laws which Nigeria is a signatory.

Furthermore, Odukoya vowed that ASUU would not relent in its struggles for better public university education in the country.

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Probable ASUU strike: Nigerian students speak

Meanwhile, undergraduates in Nigerian universities said they don't want another strike.

An undergraduate of the University of Ibadan (UI), Sofiat Doyin, who spoke to Legit.ng, said students grew bored and frustrated when they sat at home during ASUU's last major strike — an eight-month action that ended in October 2022.

Doyin said:

"The strikes are frequent and at times, when you don't expect it to last long, it stretches.

"The government should please work a way out with ASUU and avert another strike."

For the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN's) Ajetunmobi Taofeeqah, her biggest fear is spending longer than she needs to at school.

Many strikes distort the school calendar, leading students to spend more than the allotted years to get their degrees.

Taofeeqah said while speaking to Legit.ng:

"Actually, I agree with ASUU on the issues they raised. I mean, we are talking about how to make the system better. But they should consider our plight because we are always the ones who suffer more whenever these industrial crises start."

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Read more about strike actions in Nigeria:

• NLC declares nationwide strike, announces date it will commence
• Nationwide strike: Why deal with labour can’t be implemented at once, FG speaks
• Tinubu’s govt reacts, lists 12 major 'progress' made as NLC says no going back on strike

ASUU urges FG to convert student loan to grant

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that ASUU reacted to the 50 billion naira budgeted for the student loan scheme by the President Tinubu-led federal government.

ASUU president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, urged the federal government to convert the loan into grants for students.

Source: Legit.ng