THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, ASUU AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

by
Ibrahim Ado-Kurawa B. Sc (HONS) M. Sc Zoology (Applied Entomology)
Acting Director Research, Institute for Contemporary Research (ICR) Kano and General Editor Weekly Pyramid The Magazine
(ibrahimado@hotmail.com)
http://www.kanoonline.com/ibrahimado/
Kano, Nigeria
© 2001

It is surprising that despite the noise the present Obasanjo administration makes concerning education it spends less in proportion on education and health than its military predecessors See The Economist (July 28-August 3, 2001 p.40). All lovers of democracy should rebuke the government for this unbecoming attitude because in the long run democracy may not survive with an uneducated and unhealthy populace.

It is also surprising that the Federal Government has not yet implemented its agreement with ASUU, months after the union called off its first strike. What message is the government sending to the public and younger generation? Does it mean our elders and public servants cannot be men of honor and integrity? It means the government cannot be trusted. There can never be progress if the government will not be trusted. Who will trust violator of agreement? For several years ASUU has used strike as an instrument to press for its legitimate demands. It seems strike may soon be out of fashion. The present government has won the propaganda battle. Once ASUU strikes the Federal Government will use propaganda against ASUU and it will win. ASUU must change its strategy.

If ASUU continues to strike the federal government will portray it as an ungrateful union and many parents will tilt towards the government because for several years the university Calendar has always been disrupted by strikes. Students are also not in support of strikes because of the high level of poverty in Nigeria. So what are the options available to ASUU? How could the cream of the ivory tower allow the government to defeat them in a propaganda war when some of them are teachers of propaganda? Something must be wrong somewhere.

ASUU should use its connections with other segments of the civil society to persuade them to pressurize the federal government to fulfill its promises. It should engage in advocacy tours and visits to professional bodies, trade union organizations, religious and traditional institutions. It should also contact opposition politicians and present its case. ASUU should effectively use the media through professional connections with mass communications departments of the universities. ASUU must not give up the moral battle. The stakes are high and the whole educational system is under threat if the present government is allowed to continue with its unpopular policies.

ASUU should purge itself of bad eggs and always be on the side of truth by supporting the best candidates in all universities whenever there is contest for any positions. It must not be seen as supporting incompetent people for purely academic positions because this has contributed to the erosion of its credibility.

Responsible members of the public should assist ASUU and all those committed to qualitative education because it seems the present leadership of Nigeria has shown least commitment to education. Most of those in high positions have taken their children and wards to UK for university education where there are about 50000 Nigerians studying in higher institutions. The amount they spend is more than the federal education budget. Such people will certainly not bother about the plight of the children of the common men. Recently one of the multinational banks decided to employ Nigerians to its management cadre, it segregated against those who studied in Nigeria and gave Nigerians who studied in UK higher positions. This is despite the fact that Nigerian graduates must possess first degree and must pass the same aptitude test with those who studied in UK. The bank segregated because according to the management there are cultural inhibitions that the intellectual capacity of Nigerian graduates could not eliminate within a short time whereas those who studied in the UK do not have such inhibitions. The leadership of the present government wants to maintain this kind of apartheid because of their children who study outside Nigeria.

Brought to you by Kano Online 2001