The Congress of Nigerian University Academics, a breakaway faction of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, has stated what the new union of lecturers will do differently in resolving the imbroglio rocking Nigerian universities, particularly on recurring strike actions.
CONUA’s National Coordinator, Dr. Niyi Sunmonu, emphasized the need to democratize the university setting, saying this was what the academics should be after, adding that academics must look at issues from different perspectives.
Sunmonu said there should not be a fixed perspective to issues, noting that it should not be a thing of “only this way or the highway.”
Sunmonu noted that even in situations of outright wars, “issues are resolved at the table; why can’t we devote more time to that so as to avoid casualties? In this case, casualties are parents and students.”
“We want to deploy all our faculties, all our networks to the area of discussions at the table that will lead to a win-win situation; discussions that will lead to an agreement that the other side will not feel it’s being compelled to paper to pen to do,” he said.
The Federal Government on Tuesday, in a bid to weaken the influence of ASUU, registered two unions in the university system, which included CONUA and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics.
ASUU has been on strike since February 14, 2022. The union, which is the most reckoned-with umbrella body for university lecturers in Nigeria, is seeking improved welfare conditions for its members, adequate funding for universities, and the replacement of the government-introduced payment platform- Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, with the University Transparency and Accountability Solution. The latter was designed by ASUU following complaints against the IPPIS over alleged poor standardization
and incompatibility with the university system.
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