National President, ASUU, Nasir Issa-Fagge The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Sunday advised parents not to endanger the lives of their children and wards by sending them to their university campuses. ASUU which also told its members not to sign attendance registers in their institutions, lashed out at the Federal Government for lack of consistency in its statements on the ongoing strike. The Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, had at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, warned that any ASUU member that failed to resume on or before Wednesday would be sacked. Wike also directed vice-chancellors to advertise vacancies (internal and external) in their institutions. He told the vice-chancellors to open attendance registers for lecturers that resumed in their universities. The Federal Government then directed the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, to deploy policemen in all the federal universities. On Friday, President Goodluck Jonathan, who described the strike by the university teachers as a “subversive action,” added that ASUU had ceased to be a trade union. But the Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter of ASUU, Dr. Segun Ajiboye, said parents should keep their children and wards at home as no academic activity would resume until the five-month-old strike was called off. Ajiboye added, “Don’t risk the lives of your children and wards. Keep them at home because ASUU will not teach. Soldiers and the police deployed by the Federal Government will not teach. Wike can come and teach in the universities. It is a huge joke to sack lecturers. Our strike must not be in vain. Our students must see the results. “It is funny. We thought we are in a democracy. I assure Nigerians that we know what the law says about the strike. Our job is statue backed. We are not threatened. “We do not trust the government. The record of the government is clear. This government is dishonouring agreements. Our members are resolved to pursue this to a logical conclusion.” Ajiboye also said that the Federal Government’s stance was from a script that was played out by the military administration of Ibrahim Babangida in the 1990s. He stated, “Dear members, stay calm and remain resolute. There is nothing wrong in asking government to do what it says it will do immediately. ASUU is not making any new demands as the supervising minister is propagating. Government is only repeating a ‘one act play’ scripted by the IBB dictatorship in early 90s. It didn’t work then, and, it won’t work now. All branches are intact. We cannot be intimidated. “If ASUU could withstand Babangida, this government cannot threaten us. We have worked this road before, the only thing that will work is peaceful resolution. It is sad that government wants to sack us because we are asking for the resolutions. We are ready to be sacked but government should learn from the University of Ilorin experience. We are going to stay the course.” ASUU President, Dr. Nassir Fagge, urged university teachers on Sunday not to sign any attendance register. Fagge, in a message to the UI chapter , urged the lecturers to be resolute in their demands despite the threat of insecurity to their jobs. He said, “Comrades, can you see the unfolding drama? Now Jonathan says they didn’t give ultimatum. That the vice -chancellors did and Wike became their trumpet. But NUC’s (National Universities Commission) ultimatum is by the Federal Government to us to resume or get sacked. “Wike’s press address says ‘FG has directed’ not ‘VCs have directed.’ Be calm, stay resolute. By God’s grace, we are on course.” The Chairman, University of Lagos chapter of the union, Dr. Karol Ogbinaka, said Jonathan’s description of the strike as a “subversive action,” was unfortunate. “How can our action be subversive when we do not have arms and ammunition? We take exception to that. We are academics not coup plotters. I have a feeling he was misquoted. I wish to deny this on his behalf because it is an extreme statement,” Ogbinaka said. He also faulted the buck passing on the directive to reopen universities, saying it pointed to the fact that the government was “somersaulting.” So friends as an individual, do u support suspension of the strike?
Posted on: Mon, 02 Dec 2013 19:59:15 +0000