Lagos — Ten days after the suspension of strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the universities are yet to commence academic activities or to call students back to their various institutions.

Investigations by Daily Independent revealed that while students who learnt about the suspension of the strike stormed their various institutions, in some of the universities, students are not allowed to stay.

The lecturers, few days ago, suspended for two weeks the over three-month old industrial strike embarked on by the union to compel the Federal Government to sign the agreement it reached with the union, aimed at enhancing the status of public universities.

In many of the universities visited, lecturers were seen, but not teaching, because the enabling environment was not there. Some of the classrooms were under lock while the laboratories were shut with none to attend to either lecturers or students. This was due to the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU), who were to prepare the ground for effective teachings were on strike.

At UNILAG, few students were seen at the campus roaming about while lecturers were yet to resume class. The former chairman of SSANU, University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter, Joseph Adefolalu, in an interview said no lecturer could go on while the sister unions are on strike.

According to him, it is not possible for proper lecture to go on while SSANU and NASU are on strike, describing universities education as a tripod system of teaching and learning, because the three unions must work together for effective teaching and learning.

According to him the unions have just suspended their strike for two weeks to enable government sign the agreement reached between the parties, saying that normal academic and administrative works are expected to come alive from today (Monday).

At the University of Nigeria Nssuka (UNN) it was observed that nothing was going on as at last Friday. The two other unions were still on strike and hoped to resume today as directed by its leadership.

At the Lagos State University (LASU) all the classrooms and gates were under lock and key. Despite the strike by national SSANU and NASU, the university workers are having internal crisis including allegation of intimidation of workers, double standard, misappropriation of university fund levelled against the Vice-Chancellor Professor Hussein Lateef. The unions are demanding his sack.

It was learnt that even if all the unions call off the strike, LASU would not resume until the rift between the workers and management are solved.

The issues that made the union to down tools for this long had been on the negotiation table since June 2001, when ASUU called on the government to enter into an agreement with it on improving funding to universities, increasing the basic salaries of lecturers and enhancing conditions of service to reverse brain drain, as well as granting autonomy to universities.

The agreement was due for renegotiation in 2006, and between November 1, 2006 and April 3, 2008, ASUU and the government's negotiation team headed by Deacon Gamaliel Onosode went back and forth on all the issues until both parties reached an agreement that was to be signed on May 12, 2009. However, ASUU President, Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, said at a press briefing in Lagos on August 18, that the signing did not take place because "the leader of the government team said he had no mandate to sign."

Over a month after ASUU downed tools indefinitely, the Federal Government withdrew from the negotiation, saying that it could not sign an agreement based on collective bargaining because Nigeria practises federalism, and so it could not force state governments, the employers of lecturers in state universities, to pay a certain amount. The Federal Government urged ASUU to return to work before negotiations could resume.

The union refused as Awuzie differed with the government on the issue, saying the agreement is meant to serve as a minimum benchmark for state governments, not to compel them.

"At no time in the agreements reached in the past with ASUU had any state government ever been compelled to implement the agreement. Some facts should be noted, the current agreement is meant to establish and recommend minimum standards /benchmarks for the Nigerian university system," he said.

It was not until October 3 when the Federal Government sent the Edo State governor and former president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Adams Oshiomhole, to broker peace with the university teachers.

After an extended meeting with ASUU leaders in Abuja, Oshiomhole succeeded in getting the unionists to suspend the strike and resume negotiations.

In his words, "Mr President has been quite anxious that these negotiations be concluded and he is giving us all the support required. We have had exhaustive discussion with the government and ASUU, and all the way, the issues have been very well taken care of, and we have gotten to a point where we are happy to say that the government and ASUU have reached some understanding and ASUU is now expected to, as a democratic organisation, call the meeting of its own NEC to consider the possibility of suspending the strike so that negotiations can commence."

Awuzie, ASUU president, said the strike was suspended based on assurances by Oshiomhole that the Federal Government would sign the agreement and respect the rule of collective bargaining. The government made commitment to conclude and sign the process of collective bargaining within one week. "In deference to Mr. President's intervention, the union resolved to suspend the strike for two weeks with effect from Friday, October 9, to enable a cordial atmosphere for the peaceful conclusion of negotiations to ensue," Awuzie said.