WTF!?:ASUU Tackles VC Over Attempt Of Recalling Back Students.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities,
Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko
branch, has threatened a showdown with
the management of the institution, should
it make good its plans to recall students
and lecturers to campus.

The union advised parents to keep their
children at home, warning that members
were ready to resist the management’s
plans to reopen the university despite the
ongoing strike.

The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof.
Olufemi Mimiko, had on Wednesday said he
would reopen the institution if ASUU failed
to call off its over two months strike as
quickly as possible.

Mimiko had said the protracted strike had
affected the activities of the university,
which, he said, had enjoyed a stable
academic calendar in the last four years.
He said, “We have unbroken four-year
academic calendar before the strike
started. The strike has affected our
programmes. It is not in the interest of our
students. We hope ASUU will call off the
strike soon, if not, we are considering
taking a measure to bring our students
back to the campus.

“Ours is a state university and the case is
different. We don’t have any subsisting
agreement with the ASUU. It is the Federal
Government that has issues with the ASUU.”
But the Chairman of ASUU, AAUA, Dr.
Busayo Mekusi, described the VC’s plan as
“an attempt to plunge the institution into
an unending crisis.”

He told journalists in Akure on Thursday
that the strike called by the national union
would continue and AAUA branch was
committed to what he called “the
revamping of public universities in the
country.”

He said, “We advise parents to restrain their
wards from heeding the call as ASUU AAUA
is still on strike, anybody trying to break the
ongoing strike meant to better the lots of
our students of tomorrow is an enemy of
our future. All the members of the union
should disregard this.”

Continue...

He refuted the claims that the university
had no subsisting agreement with the
Federal Government, arguing that the
ongoing struggle had given AAUA access to
N1.05bn so far from the Federal
Government allocation.

He said, “We are committed to the strike
called by the union to push for the
implementation of the 2009 agreement;
state universities were duly represented
during the processes of negotiation that
culminated in the signing of the agreement
and this account for why AAUA has been
benefitting from the proceeds of ASUU
struggle as found in the intervention of
TETFUND.

“By this purported resumption of academic
activities, the VC seems to be ready to
plunge the institution into crisis as he
wants to apply the University of Ilorin
model, which promotes dehumanisation
and slavery.”

Meanwhile, ASUU has described the
negotiations, the union had been having
with the Federal Government as a “lip
service negotiations.”

The Ibadan acting zonal Coordinator of
ASUU, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, in a statement on
Thursday said, “After the meeting of
Tuesday, September 19 with the Vice-
President Namadi Sambo, it is clear that
the Federal Government is merely paying
lip-service to education in Nigeria and
deceiving the Nigerian public on their
commitment to its transformation agenda. “

He warned students and parents not to be
deceived with the agenda of the
government, saying the strike was in the
interest of Nigeria’s educational system.