The two weeks warning strike announced by ASUU on 12th October 2025, needless to say is a heavy blow on the academic development in Nigeria. It is a sign of a negligent disavowal from the government’s part to honour its long-term promise on educational revamp and overhaul; which is the core ideology of APC, the ruling party.
ASUU as a body of intelligentsia that nursed some of the best brains in the global economic, technical, political, social and artistic theatre, ought to be respected for their contributions to the Nigerian sustainable development. This sacred body of service-oriented Nigerians endured so many blows and punches from different administration but one of the notable and unforgettable is the that of the PMB’s, under which the ‘no work no pay’ strangling policy was innovated by the then thoughtless, dim-witted minister of labour, Chris Ngige.
Unfortunately, one of the worst educational system in the world is Nigeria’s. Nigerian educational system is moribund and rotten with nothing to be pride of. It needs to be financed and serviced by government. Thus, the unending announcement of strikes by this unrelenting body of advocates (ASUU) demonstrates the obvious truth — the poor attention of government to educational institutions and the brazen disregard and lackluster shows by government to address a simple but decades-long educational issues that will help the country to achieve greatness. Simple!
I remember a properly-worded line from the PMB’s acceptance speech on 12th December 2014 where he said: “Poor leadership placed us in the ditch. Continuation of poor leadership will only dig a deeper trench for all of us to fall in.”
I don’t know whether he wrote the piece with his pen, or he just saw and read it while on the podium but, this line shows, very apparently and undisputably, how leadership in Nigeria has been, for decades, ineffective, inefficient and unproductive. Think of all the developing and developed countries you can, none prospered without a standard academic environment. None survived without a standardized educational system. No country progressed when its teeming youths are wallowing in ignorance. So this is the cause of ASUU’s struggle!
In Nigeria, education is now in deeper trench (to use PMB’s diction) due to government’s inaction, callousness and inattentiveness to the ASUU’s simple and logical demands. What is more disheartening is the government’s glaring unreadiness to fulfil their demands, but instead, opted for the militarily-thoughtless policy of “no work no pay” to scare the ASUU to relinquish. This is nonsense!
The unceremonious no work no pay policy of the former minister of labour under the careless PMB Administration, whose impact is still fresh in our minds failed, and it is a bad precedence that only an ill-advised and disillusioned administration could adopt to combat a group of unfazed intelligentsia like ASUU.
This is an ungodly precedence that PMB graciously but sadly left which every government that is serious about a well-functioned educational system will not dare adopt.
It is disheartening that despite the rapid development of Alternative Dispute Resolution in Nigeria (ADR) and the monumental increment in its practice in Nigeria, the government could not (or would not) resolve this age-long issues amicably and appropriately for the best interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.
Now, the minister must revisit his history book, particularly the history of his predecessor who chose “misery” over “victory”. To choose Victory, the minister must do all that is required to resolve the ASUU/FGN issues during his ministership. He must understand that strike under this administration is a substraction on his credit book that posterity will closely study now or posthumously. The minister, unlike the former minister, must choose to be a victor under this ASUU/FGN decades war.
Notably, it is said: when elephants are fighting only the grasses suffer. The students have been the recipients of all the bullets the government shot at ASUU, including the no work no pay policy employed during PMB by his inept minister. Students cry, bleed and sometimes die when this ASUU/FGN tussle is ongoing. This is pathetic! Thus, government should reconsider its stance for the better.
No work no pay is a bequeathed policy that failed ignominiously to serve the best interest of Nigerian populace even when it was brazenly adopted by its pioneer innovator, under PMB administration.
Therefore, the minister of labour has two options: to strive to resolve ASUU issues and clench victory or to continue threatening the fearless ASUU with the inherited no work no pay policy and become miserable at the end. Whatever choice he makes, posterity will read about him and judge him dispassionately.
Akilu Saadu, a undergraduate student at ABU, writes from Zaria, Kaduna State
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