No nation can truly grow until its people are educated, as Nelson Mandela famously stated. Is Nigeria an example of this? The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the Federal Government, FG, have reached a stage that requires some important decisions must be made over the resumption date for the tertiary institutions across Nigerians’ states.

However, the ASUU and the FG have been at odds for over six months, reportedly about the rights and the restoration of public tertiary education in Nigeria.

The revitalization of public institutions earned academic allowances, the implementation of the university transparency and accountability solution for remuneration of university lecturers; and the upgrade of some varsities structures are some of the requests made by ASUU.

While the recent meeting between ASUU and the government ended in deadlock, many stakeholders, especially Nigerian students abroad have raised alarm over the continuous stay at the home of students in the country. Meanwhile, The Federal Government recently proposed a 23.6 per cent increment for lecturers in public universities and 35 per cent and above to be enjoyed by professors. The Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu in his statement said “The Federal Government can only afford a 23.5% salary increase for all categories of the workforce in Federal Universities, except for the professorial cadre which will enjoy a 35% upward review.

“That a sum of 150 billion Naira shall be provided for in the 2023 Budget as funds for the revitalization of Federal Universities, to be disbursed to the Institutions in the First Quarter of the year, and that a sum of 50 billion Naira shall be provided for in the 2023 Budget for the payment of outstanding areas of earned academic allowances, to be paid in the First Quarter of the year”.

ASUU rejected the proposed salary increment noting that the federal government did not meet their demand. On the other hand, Malam Adamu Adamu has said that the federal government will not put hands on paper to sign the agreement which they wouldn’t be able to implement. The Federal government has however dragged the Academic Staff Union of Universities to the industrial court stating that, negotiations have failed.

Our youths have taken to arms; we are losing our best brains.

Convener, Diplomacy, and Strategy, Think Tank Group, Gerald Nwokocha, in a chat with Inside Nigeria noted that the incessant strike by ASUU has made some students take to arms, while others who could afford varsity education abroad have left the country, making Nigeria lose some of her best brains.

His words: ” Believe it or not, once a bandit is recruited, he can only retire if banditry doesn’t exist again. Those idle boys from February till now have the luxury of time to belong where they should not have belonged. This on its own constitutes social and national risk. Hence the forthcoming election spells doom for politicians that will misbehave.

“The psychological effect on students when it comes to the consciousness to learn and be willing to be thought is greatly impeded by the long stay at home.

“The long-term consequence of this suppression of learning consciousness is that these youths would embrace every alternative that is out there that is not learning oriented.

“It’s a time bomb, for, in a world that is largely becoming smaller due to technology, volatile, uncertain, complex, and uncertain, these young people would have to not only compete among themselves for almost non-existent opportunities but also do so with their contemporaries across the world.” Gerald reiterated.

ASUU strike doom for national economy growth

On his own, a Nigerian scholar abroad, and Founder and Executive Director; Kayode Alabi Leadership and Career Initiative, Hammed Alabi, explained that the industrial action by ASUU has profound impacts on the students, as well as on the national economy.

“We need to look at how many people are travelling abroad. The majority of the young wanting to go abroad, are still in Nigeria. The reason is that they can’t access their certificate and transcript.

“For instance, if you want to study for a master’s, you need to have your bachelor’s degree and transcript. Which our students currently do not have access to because they have not completed their degree. So furthering their education will be very difficult.

“So the strike is affecting research and development, and also innovation. As many of these graduates would have been employers of labour and be opened to opportunities if not ASUU strike.

Corroborating, another Nigerian in the diaspora, Dr Kelechi Onwukamike, explained that the strike initiated by ASUU over the lack of implementation of the pack it signed with the federal government, has a profound impact on students seeking admission abroad.

His words: ”Since the ASUU strike in Feb 2022, have we had more interested people seeking admission abroad. As a founder of Dekemp, a registered NGO, which, among other key deliverables, focuses on providing postgraduate scholarship opportunities to graduate students through coaching and mentorship, I must say that overall I have seen more people interested in seeking scholarship information due to the ASUU strike. Painful, and recently, a final year student reached out to me on LinkedIn with the intention to abandon his degree in Nigeria and start afresh abroad! The reality is that six months or more is way too long to be out of school, this time can never be recovered. It is very painful because the students are suffering. I have equally seen and also have a couple of mentees in the final year that can´t apply for scholarships because their results will not be ready by Sept 2022 for a programme they were to graduate from months ago. In summary.” Dr. Onwukamike lamented.

ASUU strike, a setback to Nigeria’s educational development, as students may have two years of unnecessary academic extension

Dr Adewunmi

For the Head of Department, Graphic Design, Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, Dr Ayo Adewunmi, the impact of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU was a setback to the country’s educational development, as it has increased poor learning culture among Nigerian students, especially federal universities.

According to the creative instructor: “ASUU strike has a setback in educational development for over six months now. If we limit our scope to the recent strike.”

“What the above implies is that those due for graduation are held back, the admission process halted, and coupled with the challenge of the 2020 pandemic, we may have two years of unnecessary academic extension in most Universities. The implications are that a few students may have abandoned their studies to start all over in private universities. While some others who could afford it might have gone to other countries to pursue their academic career. It is worrisome that some others who are idle might have taken crime.”

ASUU strike has given students, and parents, mental health issues

The Executive Director, Africa Foundation for Young Media Professionals & ED, African Child Education Right initiative, Yinka Olaito said: “Everyone knows that most parents and students in public higher institutions are going through a form of mental health issue or the other.

“The delay of the student’s four-year plans, the impact on their life’s goal and plans had been unimaginable. Today we see many students aimlessly going places they should have not been if they were in school.

“A final year student of LAUTECH was recently killed with her boss who she was doing holiday jobs with. That was an unnecessary and untimely death that was avoidable if the session had been on.

For the few who are engaged in worthwhile skill acquisition, the inability to have a long plan is affecting their productivity too.

For an Engineer, Mr Chris Okwori: “In the last 20 years ASUU strikes have claimed over 25% of academic calendars of the nation’s public universities making students in a five-year program graduate one year or more later, despite not having any academic issues.

“And lots of small and medium enterprises serving students and university communities have suffered heavy losses running to billions of naira daily such as restaurants, accommodation, transporters, business centres, fashion, and beauty as well as the telecoms sector among others.

“While crime rates tend to steep with ASUU strike as well as prostitution, illicit sex, and political thuggery have increased. The list goes on. This puts pressure on taxpayers, security agencies, infrastructure, and public services“ Okwori stated.

Our future is unknown, we are diving into societal menace

Student

Some students, who spoke to Insidenigeria, lamented that their future has been put on hold due to the ongoing strike.

A student at, the University of Ilorin, UNILORIN, Adetunji Ademola, has this to say: “Pressure to move on with my life is high. I have taken a job I don’t really want because I don’t want to be seen as lazy, especially in this economy. Basically, It is even hard to move on completely other things because my transcript is not available to pursue further education Or even be employed properly.” Ademola lamented.

Another student who asked to be anonymous said: “The strike is pretty bad if I’d be honest. It is one thing to have hopes praying for them to be fulfilled. It is another thing to see it ruined by a bad government. I mean your hopes weren’t shattered by a natural cause but by selfish rulers and there’s nothing you can actually do about me. For students like me that find it hard to transit to something else without completing one, saying the strike is bad is definitely an understatement. Sadly, there’s little to nothing we can do about it.” She said.

A Nigerian student Emmanuel Ude reiterated that the strike was seriously affecting one’s mental health. “Keeping us idle for a long while is really frustrating” Ude noted. Another student, from the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Blessing Okoduwa, said: “The strike action by ASUU has resulted in the loss of focus and passion for learning. The financial burden is also telling on us, while we grapple with how to survive, we are also thinking of paying fees if school eventually resumes.

Meanwhile, the strike has had a positive impact on some students with some claiming it has helped them gain valuable skills such as programming language, software development, and Microsoft not leaving out hard skills such as hairdressing, barbing, and Fashion designs among others.

I left the country when the ASUU strike was frustrating my PhD program

“I am Esther Uwandu-Mordi. I was a PhD student at a Nigerian university, and the program was just dragging unnecessarily, plus the incessant strikes that were happening now and then. So I decided to start applying to schools abroad, and I got admission.

“So the strike and the frustrating Nigerian education system, made me relocate to start my PhD program afresh.

“However, in terms of cost, studying abroad is very expensive, but it is worth it. At least, you’re seeing the value of your money, as everything is done in organized ways. And sometimes, there are scholarships available, full or partial. I got a partial scholarship and it has made my program less financially strenuous.

“Nigerian government should become more responsive and responsible so that they can meet the demands of ASUU, if not, more students will abandon their programs.” Mrs. Uwandu-Mordi noted.