26th February, 2015
Dr. Chibuzo Asomugha, National President of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP, in this interview with DAMILARE OKUNOLA, explained why the union will no longer go on its planned industrial action
You informed us of your intention to embark on another industrial action from Wednesday (yesterday). Why the sudden change of mind?
There was a NEC meeting last weekend, where we had decided to press home our demands with the industrial action as our last resort. But after a meeting with Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, Minister for Education and some House of Reps members on Tuesday, we have decided to suspend the proposed strike and go about our work normally.
But, what was the thrust of that meeting and why did you agree to call off the planned strike?
You will recall that on July 17, 2014, ASUP and NASU suspended a ten month stretch of strike action in Nigeria’s polytechnics. One of the core issues in dispute was the failure of government to keep its own part of the 2009 Agreement it entered with the unions by implementing an adjusted salary structure called CONTISS 15 which was approved in 2009. As at the time the unions suspended the strike, the Minister of Education had assured that all the issues in dispute would be resolved within three months. Prior to the present development, and pursuant to the CONTISS 15 matter, the Minister had set up a technical committee to fine tune the hazy details of the issue. Part of that committee’s recommendation was an on-sight verification of returns for arrears made by the polytechnics. While we were awaiting the verification exercise, the Federal Ministry of Education released a circular suspending the CONTISS 15 implementation in the polytechnics. The obvious implication of this directive was that even the part of the programme already in implementation since 2009 would be suspended pending the completion of the verification. But the statement has been withdrawn after our meeting with the Federal Government and other stakeholders and other issues being raised have been attended to.
Many would have seen your move as a way of trying to heat up the polity, especially as we are in the period of elections.
NEC’s option for the last resort does not have any relationship with the upcoming elections. Certain definite actions of certain actors provoked ASUP’s response to the situation. Recall that the union had suspended the strike in July 2014 on the assurance that the issues in dispute would be resolved in three months from then. Eight months after, the union had shown extraordinary restraint and endurance in a clear understanding of the exigencies of the political climate. Sadly, though, and very provocatively, on 26 January 2015, the Federal Ministry of Education released an ill-timed circular as discussed earlier. But that has been corrected. So, it is obvious that our reaction was provoked by certain identifiable actions by very identifiable organs.
With the ongoing tension between the two major political parties, rumours are already rife that you may have been sponsored to bring up this issue again…
This allegation of having been bought over is not a new thing. We have come to accept it as the norm in a polity replete with sycophancy and idleness. This allegation was parroted during the last phase of the strike especially by persons who felt that was the only way they could burrow their ways to favour. If the provocation came at this time, why should it seem strange that we are reacting promptly?
Are there no other ways of pressing home your demands apart from embarking on endless strike actions?
If you understood ASUP’s disposition, it would be clear to you that our union does not have a penchant for strikes. We understand that strikes can be very disruptive phenomena and should be nothing to gloat over. If you must know the truth, this would have been one strike ASUP believes is avoidable depending on how far government is willing to go.
How ready were the institutions to follow the union’s ‘stay at home’ order?
Our chapters had been fully mobilised for this phase of the struggle. Indeed, the impetus for the resolution came from the passion and commitment of the members at the chapter level and no public polytechnic would have been exempted from the action.
Don’t you think we need a new law governing polytechnics in Nigeria?
There is a law governing the running of polytechnics in Nigeria. In as much as the extant statutes may not be perfect, yet they provide the essential boundaries for running our polytechnics. Currently, there is an on-going review of the Polytechnics’ Act, an exercise we believe will go a long way in strengthening the institutional, legal and governance framework of the existing laws.
Why do you think the Polytechnic sector is being neglected?
The perennial neglect of the polytechnic sector may have stemmed from the mindset of the designers of the system at the outset. By design or by intent those first foisted with the responsibility of fashioning the polytechnic system in Nigeria were mostly drawn from the universities to design a relatively new system. So, consciously or unconsciously they set out to design a model that couldn’t be at par with the university sector where they came from. Successive operators of the polytechnic system have since then safely and conveniently perpetuated the same socio-cultural dichotomies.