For students of universities and other tertiary institutions in Nigeria, it does not only rain; it pours. An action that will compound the already bad situation across the university campuses as the teaching staff under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) are already in the second of their three-month initial strike.
This is because the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, and Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions, SANU, have given notice to embark on a two-week warning strike in protest against alleged insensitivity of the Nigerian government.
A memo by the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and SANU to the leadership of the unions’ branches nationwide and dated Friday, March 25, 2022, indicated that the strike is scheduled to take effect by midnight of Sunday, March 27.
The memo by JAC, which was signed by President, Mohammed Ibrahim, and NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, is titled; “Commencement of Two-Week Warning Strike.”
The letter reads in part; “In view of the nonchalant attitude of the government to our demands, this is to direct our members in all universities and inter-university centres throughout the country to commence a two-week strike by midnight of Sunday, 27 March, 2022, in the first instance as earlier conveyed to the federal government in our letter.
“Please note that the two-week warning strike should be comprehensive and total as no concession should be given under any guise.
“Your strict compliance and adherence to this directive is mandatory for all branches of NASU and SSANU in the universities and inter-university centres.”
In a letter addressed to the office of the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, and dated March 16, 2022, JAC of SSANU and NASU, had accused the government of insincerity in its implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and Memorandum of Action (MoA) reached with the government in October 2020 and February 2021 respectively.
The letter, written at the end of a meeting to review the situation and signed by both Messrs Adeyemi and Ibrahim, gave the Nigerian government up till March 27 to address its demands or face an initial two-week strike.
JAC had given two weeks ultimatum to the government to implement the said demands, while it issued ‘red alerts’ to its members, asking them to prepare for a possible showdown with the government.
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The workers are demanding payment of their earned allowances, inclusion of university staff school into the university community while complaining of non-payment of minimum wage arrears, and funding of state universities and usurpation of non-academic career positions by Vice-Chancellors.
They allege that university Vice-Chancellors have continued to defy a court order declaring that the teachers of universities’ staff schools are integral members of the university community.
