The Kano Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that another full shutdown of public universities may be unavoidable as negotiations with the Federal Government continue to drag without meaningful progress.
Speaking at a press briefing in Kano on Monday, the Zonal Coordinator, Comrade Abdulkadir Muhammad, said members are growing increasingly frustrated by what they describe as the government’s slow and unserious approach to resolving long-standing issues.
“Our members were seriously dismayed and disillusioned with the snail’s pace of the renegotiation,” he said, referring to the National Executive Council meeting held on November 8 and 9 at Taraba State University. “It hinders its purposeful conclusion.”
He recalled that ASUU embarked on a two-week warning strike on October 13, which was later suspended on October 21 after appeals from students, parents and concerned Nigerians.
“The decision to suspend the warning strike was reached essentially to create an enabling environment for meaningful and fruitful engagements,” he said. “However, our hope for a holistic, amicable and timely resolution is increasingly being dashed.”
Muhammad accused some government officials of undermining the process, saying they use tactics that misinform the public and weaken negotiations.
While acknowledging recent payments of accumulated promotion arrears and partial third-party deductions, he said these efforts fall far short of addressing the core issues. “The government has not shown a genuine commitment to address the poor condition of service of Nigerian academics substantially,” he said. “What government has offered to ASUU will neither significantly improve the working condition of Nigerian academics nor attract scholars from other countries.”
He also dismissed claims by some officials that ASUU’s demands have been largely met. “This raises doubts about the government’s sincerity,” he added. “It also shows that the government favours propaganda over genuine efforts to timely resolve the outstanding issues.”
The Kano Zone further criticised the increasing trend of establishing new universities without proper funding, describing it as a political project rather than an educational necessity. Muhammad urged the Federal Government to extend its seven-year moratorium on creating new institutions to state governments as well.
With ASUU’s one-month ultimatum nearing its end, the union appealed to stakeholders to intervene. “We are appealing to all stakeholders to prevail on the government to address all outstanding issues to avert another round of total shutdown of our universities,” he said.
