Varsity teachers may end strike - GUARDIAN

Published: Tuesday, 05 November 2013 

Written by From Mohammed Abubakar (Abuja) and Saxone Akhaine (Kaduna)

• Rights groups differ on action
THERE were strong indications Tuesday that the four-month-old strike embarked upon by university teachers in the country may soon end.
  The glimpse of hope is coming after about more than 13 hours of negotiation between the Federal Government delegation led by President Goodluck Jonathan and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
  In a related development, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) yesterday in Kaduna differed on the strike, as some want the lecturers to resume, while others blamed the Federal Government for the crisis.
  Emerging from the meeting at about 3.40 am, the obviously tired ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge, told journalists that the delegation was going to consult with the larger union before taking a decision on the strike.
  A source at the meeting, however, said it is just a question of time before the university teachers call off the strike as they made compromises.
  According to Fagge, “We now have a message from Mr. President to our members”. When asked what the message was, he said: “The message is not for you, thank you.”
  Similarly, Labour Minister, Emeka Wogu, said the meeting was that of high expectations and urged Nigerians to be patient with ASUU leadership as they go to consult with their larger membership.
  Asked if there were fresh angles to the negotiation, Wogu said all the discussions centred round the 2009 agreement.
  The National Chairman, Middle-Belt Youth Forum, Mr. Jonathan Asake, at a round table interface to review the impact of the ASUU strike, decried what he described as a “culture of strike”, which had become a permanent feature in the country.
  He said there was no segment of the Nigerian society that does not have problems with the government and as such, the striking lecturers should consider the plight of Nigerian students and go back to the classrooms.
  However, President, Next Generation Youth Initiatives, Ambassador Onoja, faulted government’s lackadaisical attitude towards the plight of workers in the country, noting that unless workers go on strike, “government never takes them serious.”
  He said the demand of ASUU was not too much for the government to accede to, stressing that government must be seen to be transparent in its dealings with the university lecturers in order to bring to an end to the strike.
  Onoja appealed to the ASUU “to resolve the strike in the interest of the nation” as the continued strike would only worsen the already bad situation.