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The immediate past President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has described his time as ASUU President as “hectic but successful”, pointing out that he passed through difficult moments while on the saddle.
Osodeke, who spoke to newsmen in Umuahia on Monday during his reception at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, said ASUU passed through a whole lot of turbulent moments during the time of late former President Muhammadu Buhari, revealing that things were further compounded by a former Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.
He pointed out that despite the frustrations ASUU passed through in improving university system and education that was in a deplorable state, he is happy that the struggle kept the public universities where they are today, stressing that in primary and secondary schools, 99% of the primary school pupils and students are now in public institutions.
Osodeke said, “My time was hectic, but at the end, I came out successful. I passed through a lot of difficulties, especially in the era of President Muhammadu Buhari. May his soul rest in peace, anchored by one Chris Ngige, who created a lot of confusion when we were trying to struggle for the good of our university system. Well, number one, which is very important for all of us, for all our struggles from the beginning, our struggle has kept our public universities where they are today. If you check the primary, secondary, 99% of the primary pupils and students are now in public institutions.
“But in Nigeria University today, 95% of the students are still in public universities because of our struggle, and that is the aim. So we have kept the standard, and that is one of the things I did.”
Also speaking on strides recorded while on the saddle, he noted that during his tenure, they were able to remove the ASUU, tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, and migrated to
a new platform, stating that today, a number of professors probably are now retired with their full pay.
“Our struggle is not about an individual. It’s about a system. One system moves from one to another. But we have kept on the struggle. We passed through different eras in our struggle but we have kept on. If not for our struggle, I can assure you, they would have pulled out public universities.”
Continuing, “What we see in front as academics, the others don’t see. If we stop this struggle, today, just mention one public institution that is still working. Nigerian Railways, is it working? Nigerian Airways, is it working? Just mention one.
Asked how he would rate his tenure as to his achievements as ASUU President, Osodeke insisted that he made significant strides, emphasizing that what is important is where the union is today in terms of welfare and conditions in the Nigerian universities.
“I don’t care what the people say, we did that for the public, for the future. Any day we let down this struggle, like the Nigerian Railway, like the refineries that cannot work, with all the trillions put there, then we are finished.
“Today, you can see all the politicians are struggling to establish universities. Why? Because of our struggle. If the public institutions have died, I don’t see any governor, minister or Legislator, say I’m going to establish a primary or secondary school.
“That is why they are struggling, because of what we have done. Whether you like it or not, because of our commitment today, the whole world is looking for our doctors. The whole world is looking for them to appoint. Because of what we are doing. That’s why you see them coming. And why are they running away? Because we don’t pay them properly.”
Osodeke while speaking on the way forward for ASUU and his successor, Christopher Piwuna, he stated that his successor does not need anything new because he has been a part and parcel of the struggle, adding that welfare of members, funding of the universities, creating an environment where the students can have good lectures remain critical in achieving good university system in the country.
On his part, the current President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Christopher Piwuna, opined that ASUU struggle remains a collective struggle that is never built around an individual, adding that the Union has rich membership up to the leadership of the union.
He said as academics, it is their collective aspirations as intellectuals to salvage the public education in the country, maintaining that it concerns all as parents, students as well as concerned members of ASUU.
“As we are able to come together, I believe we will get better funding for our universities, improve conditions of service for our members, proliferation of universities, issues of academic freedom and autonomy. These are things that are set up in terms of what we need to fight for and continue with this struggle.
On issue of the Union embarking on incessant strike actions, Piwuna noted that strike action is not peculiar to Nigeria. According to him, it is a universal tool while appreciating his predicessor for his struggles, promising to sustain the struggle.
“It’s not peculiar to ASUU members. It’s a tool that is used all over. And so, we cannot take that tool off the table. But we hope that we do not have to embark on any action before we can get what we want.” Piwuna added.
Speaking while reading his address, the Vice Chancellor Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Professor Maduebibisi Ofo Iwe, represented by the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Prof. Nneoma Elechi Obasi, said MOUAU management is conscious of the role Prof. Osodeke played as the President of ASUU in negotiating the welfare of members.
The VC stated that the University management were supportive especially during those months and years of labour/government face-off, stressing that they stood by him and ensured he had a peaceful environment to retire to after endless negotiations and loss of sleep at Abuja.
“His participation at the level he did, has classified Michael University as a senior university. As we all know, it is from senior universities that we produced such important members who had attained such a position in the union. Our university over this period had gone through a lot of transformation in human and process development.
He appreciated his numerous achievements in ASUU struggle, admitting that the institution passed through turbulent moments just as the Union, saying, “when short-paced within the campus, among both staff and students, we pursued interventions in provision of amenities needed for our environment. We have been equipping our laboratories and opening up linkages with internal and international universities in Asia, America, Europe, and Africa. We shall all recall that these last four years were full of troubles and loss of opportunities in the universities due to the abortion of my piece, loss of interest in academic work, despondency among the staff, and lack of academic values.”
Earlier, Professor Chike Ugwuene the current Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, MOUAU, said Nigeria is blessed to have people like Osodeke who have served the country meritoriously as ASUU President.
He decried that the society and government have continued to misconstrue the role and struggle of ASUU in University education, maintaining that ASUU does not just go to war with the government, but fights for the welfare of Union members, better studying equipment in institutions of higher learning, good hostels and laboratories, advocate low school fees if hiked among others.
Ugwuene also spoke on the relationship between ASUU MOUAU and the University authority, informing that they are not always at loggerheads with the institution. He said they have always chosen the path of dialogue in resolving issues in the institution.
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