Hassan Taiwo
10 November 2009
opinion
Lagos — As the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) called off its four months old strike on Thursday 23rd October 2009, the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) wishes to commend the leadership and members of ASUU for a battle well fought.
We also commend the leadership and members of SSANU, NASU and NAAT who are still at the negotiating table with the Federal government for being steadfast. As far as we are concerned, this strike has further shown that you can hardly get anything if you do not engage this government in struggle. Without the uncompromising stance of the staff unions and the countless protests and demonstrations of workers, students and youths organized across the country, the Federal government would not have been compelled to sign the agreement.
According to the sketchy details of the agreement made available to the public, both parties agreed that "Being mindful of the processes of meeting this goal of 26% yearly budgetary allocation to education as enunciated in the UNESCO benchmarks, the Federal Government shall endeavour to progressively increase budgetary allocations to education sector in accordance with its vision 20:20:20 programme". This to us expressly means that the Federal government has accepted that it needs to play greater roles in the funding of public education in Nigeria.
However, we in the ERC have no confidence that the anti-poor Yar' Adua is prepared to implement the signed agreement in good faith considering the fact that vision 20:20:20 lack the capacity to fund education properly or protect the interest of Nigerian students and youths.
One, government at all levels has a very alarming antecedent of failing to implement agreements as the failure to meet Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) demand for Teachers Salary Scale (TSS) demonstrates. Second, the very day the agreement was signed, the Federal government approved licenses for seven private institutions which clearly show that the government is still pursuing the same ruinous course of action that has made education the preserve of a rich few. Third, the Federal government policy of deregulation in the oil sector (the main stay of the economy) which essentially means transferring the Nation's rich oil resources to multinational companies, local oil cartels and profiteers means that the government is at the same time deepening its anti-poor policies of privatization and commercialization. The weird logic of deregulation will lead to the government abdicating all roles, including even the tenuous role it is playing now, in the funding of education, healthcare and other services crucial for the survival of poor working class people in Nigeria.
What all this means is that while signing agreement with ASUU, the Federal government is busy pursing neo-liberal and anti-poor policies to undermine the successful implementation of the agreement. If the Federal government wants to assure us that this agreement will be implemented in good faith, it must place priority on public institutions which serve over 70% of the populace over private institutions most of which lack standard and could only accommodate a few children from privileged homes, leaving out the vast majority of Nigerian youths. It must also halt the policy of deregulation and indeed all neo-liberal policies of privatization, which in all ramification only serves the profit interest of a few at the expense of the needs of vast majority. Instead, government should nationalize the oil sector and place it under the control and management of elected committees of workers and oil producing communities. Only this will ensure that maximum revenue is generated from oil production can be utilized to fund education and other social services unlike the prevailing situation where only oil cartels and multinational companies benefit.
But if all this is not done and government continue to pursue this same anti-poor policy of deregulation, this signed agreement may go the way of other agreements signed with the Federal government, except the staff unions, workers, students and poor masses rise up to challenge the government to implement it. Therefore ASUU must not rest on its oars because the struggle to enforce implementation will require the utmost unity and solidarity of all staff unions, students and working class parents. As soon as possible, ASUU should make public the details of the signed agreement so that the Federal government will not later deny signing agreement with the Union.
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