A social-cultural group, the Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA), has thrown its weight behind the industrial action embarked upon by the polytechnic lecturers under the aegis of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).

The group expressed support in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Dagga Tolar, on Tuesday.

The group noted that the strike shows the failure of the federal and state governments to resolve the perennial problems in the critical sectors.

The group while condemning the nonchalant attitude of the government toward meeting the three Unions demands urged the Buhari-led government to show enough commitment in reneging the agreements reached with them.

The group also called on the leadership of the NLC to declare and mobilise for a 48-hour warning general strike to fight for non-payment of minimum wage, salary arrears, including the backdoor taxes imposed on working people in the name of increases in the prices of fuel and electricity.

The statement reads in part: “ASUP and other trade unions should name a day of mass action to compel the Federal and State Governments to meet their demands.

“The Movement for a Socialist Alternative (MSA) fully supports the ongoing indefinite strike action of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP). The strike once again shows the failure of the federal and state governments to resolve the perennial problems in the education sector.

“We call on the Federal Government to immediately meet ASUP demands so that students can resume academic activities, which the Covid-19 pandemic already elongated and now again on hold due to an avoidable strike.

“We condemn the nonchalant attitude of the government towards the polytechnic teachers. It was the same anti-education and nonchalant attitude that led to the avoidable strike of ASUU that lasted for eight months and was the longest in the history of the university system.

“The demands of ASUP, like other unions in the education sector that have been at loggerheads with the government, are for the revitalisation of Nigeria's polytechnics. Ordinarily, it should not take a strike to draw the attention of a responsible government to the general state of rot in Nigeria's education system.

"But Nigeria, as a neo-colonial capitalist country, has a limited role for education in the enrichment of its few billionaires, who depend largely on multinationals, oil, government's protection and contracts for their wealth. Such a predatory state of affairs is responsible for the underdevelopment, the deep misery of the masses, including prevalent insecurity and violent crimes.

“We therefore understand the points education workers are making for the revitalisation of tertiary institutions to boost the productivity of the economy. We join them in calling on the government to end insecurity and poverty by funding a quality education that is free and accessible.

“According to the National President of ASUP, Mr. Anderson Ezeibe, the non-implementation of the Needs Assessment report of 2014 in the polytechnics, as well as the non-release of any revitalization fund to the sector, despite assurances since 2017, are the prominent reasons behind the ongoing strike.

Also, the union is demanding the payment of salary arrears owed its members in both federal and state-owned polytechnics. We extend our solidarity to ASUP in this struggle and give voice to its legitimate demands for the progress of Nigeria's education and development.

“We note that the Federal Government has been largely indifferent to the agitations of ASUP over the past few months, which has contributed to the commencement of the strike on the 6th of April, 2021. It is not coincidental that the same nonchalant attitude was applied to other striking unions, like the JUSUN, and the NARD, which commenced strike actions earlier. We call on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to provide a platform of joint action for all striking workers, whose demands are similar after all.

“We also re-emphasise our call on the leadership of the NLC to declare and mobilise for a 48-hours warning general strike to fight for non-payment of minimum wage, salary arrears, including the backdoor taxes imposed on working people in the name of increases in the prices of fuel and electricity.”

MSA also called on ASUP and other unions that are on strike to set a day aside for nationwide mass protests to compel the government to meet their demands.