A civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has expressed sadness and disappointment that less than one month after the Academic Staff Union of Staff Universities (ASUU), suspended its eight-month strike action, the union and the federal government are back on a warpath largely due to “the bellicose and lawless position of the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Nwabueze Ngige.”

HURIWA which condemned the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government for being totally nonchalant towards the educational rights of the children of the poor and less privileged in the society because children of political elite are educated abroad, using the country’s commonwealth.

The group, in a statement endorsed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Sunday, has, therefore, warned the federal government that it was playing with fire by pushing millions of youngsters in the public university system to the wall.

HURIWA noted that the National Executive Council of ASUU was set to meet on Monday (today) to decide whether to embark on another strike or not; just as the meeting, which is expected to be held at the University of Abuja campus, according to media prediction, comes on the heels of the October salary cut received by members of the union, weeks after suspending the prolonged industrial action.

HURIWA recalled that ASUU had on February 14, 2023, shut down both State and Federal government-owned universities over previous agreements yet to be implemented by the government.

Besides, HURIWA recalled that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, after what he described as “failed negotiations” dragged the striking lecturers before the National Industrial Court. The court, on September 21, ordered ASUU to call off the strike and resume duty with immediate effect. ASUU had swiftly appealed the judgement but the Appeal Court also handed down a similar order, asking the striking lecturers to resume academic activities as declared in the earlier judgement. The strike was finally suspended on October 14, 2022.

HURIWA condemned the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government's anti union posture to sustain its No work, No-pay policy, even after the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal had in unprecedented unconstitutional posture, forced the Academic Staff Union of Universities to resume classes before it could entertain the appeal the Union filed against the decision of the National Industrial Court which is the court of first instance in industrial disputation leading to litigation.

HURIWA recalled that the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila had reportedly led the central government to agree to set the policy of no work, no pay policy aside and pay the arrears.

But it was learnt earlier in the week, lecturers were paid half salaries for October, a development that may lead to another industrial crisis between the federal government and the union.

HURIWA condemned the anti-intellectual and anti-union postures of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration for refusing to pay the lecturers their full wages in compliance with best global practices since strike action is an integral aspect of the right of employees.

The rights group also warned the federal government that another industrial action that would keep millions of young children of the poor Nigerian families at home would be viciously resisted and may precipitate the Algerian type of youths-led revolution.

We believe that the federal government of President Muhammadu Buhari which has failed massively in every aspects of our national life and has completely collapsed the economy of Nigeria, may be planning to use the provocative approaches it has adopted in the ASUU versus Federal Government’s disagreement to instigate a political crises that may destabilize the Country and therefore lead to the postponement of the coming general election because the government at the centre is afraid that because of its manifest failures, the electorate may teach them a hard lesson by not voting for All Progressives Congress which is why the government wants to destabilize democracy by creating anarchy in the public University system which will nosedive into the destabilisation of Constitutional democracy,” HURIWA said.

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