LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) –The simmering discontent within the Nigerian university system has reached boiling point as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) have jointly directed their members to embark on a nationwide strike starting Monday, 18th March.
The move, articulated in a meticulously worded memo dated Friday, 15th March, and co-signed by SSANU’s National President, Mohammed Ibrahim, and NASU’s General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, represents a drastic escalation in response to the protracted issue of unpaid salaries.
The directive from the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and NASU underscores the unions’ frustration with the Nigerian government’s perceived indifference towards their members’ financial plight.
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Despite repeated entreaties and ultimatums, the government has failed to address the issue of withheld salaries, leaving SSANU and NASU with no recourse but to resort to industrial action.
The strike, slated to last seven days initially, aims to draw attention to the inequities in salary payments, particularly in comparison to the expeditious resolution afforded to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
In their memo, SSANU and NASU leaders admonished branch representatives to ensure unwavering adherence to the strike directive, emphasizing the imperative of a unified front in demanding redress from the government.
The unions lamented the government’s neglect of their previous appeals and highlighted the absence of meaningful engagement despite concerted efforts to seek resolution through official channels.
The looming strike portends significant disruptions across university campuses nationwide, with the withdrawal of vital services poised to grind academic activities to a standstill.
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SSANU and NASU members, entrusted with critical functions ranging from administrative duties to maintenance of campus infrastructure, are poised to withhold their services, leaving campuses grappling with the prospect of power outages, water shortages, and neglected sanitation facilities.
As the countdown to the strike commences, stakeholders within the university community brace for the impending fallout, cognizant of the potential ramifications for students, faculty, and staff alike.
With the specter of industrial action looming large, questions linger regarding the government’s responsiveness to the unions’ grievances and the efficacy of their collective bargaining efforts in securing a resolution that averts further disruption to the already beleaguered higher education sector.