The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has stated that the Federal Government has not shown regard for tertiary education by the way it treats the welfare and conditions of service of its intellectuals in public universities.

The union, however, maintained that it will not abandon the fight to have decent welfare and conditions of service for its members and will ensure that governments commit adequate funding to the revitalisation of public Universities in the interest of the children of the masses.

The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ibadan Chapter, Dr Adefemi Afolabi, stated this on Thursday while featuring on “Situation Room”, a radio program in Ibadan.

ASUU commenced a two-week warning strike on Monday to protest the federal government’s failure to sign the renegotiated draft agreement reached by the Yayale Ahmed committee, set up by the Tinubu-led government to renegotiate with the union, which concluded its sittings over eight months ago.

According to Dr Afolabi, the federal government took ASUU for granted for over eight months, adding that the union was not happy to proceed with the warning strike but was forced to adopt a delay tactic approach, as the federal government had, as well as its posture of jettisoning the principle of collective bargaining.

The ASUU boss stated that the union waited for eight months, organised protests to sensitise Nigerians on the need for the government to sign the draft renegotiated agreement with the government committee headed by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, but the government came back with a new committee to restart the engagement from the beginning.

This, according to the union, is a waste of time and resources and an indication that “government was only interested in wasting our time and not ready to resolve the welfare and conditions of service of lecturers”

Sadly, Dr. Afolabi noted that there is a wave of resignation of high-profile professors in Nigeria’s public universities who are relocating abroad in search of greener pastures for themselves and their families.

Apart from the professors’ resignation, Dr. Afolabi lamented that young lecturers who were recently employed are also resigning, as they were shocked by the salaries and conditions of service when they were paid.

“We don’t work in an ideal environment. How do you reward your intellectuals with so little and still expect them to be happy and continue to work? Our strike is based on a lack of trust in this federal government because its approach is not significantly different from those of previous administrations. You do not want to strike, but government policies are disrupting the livelihoods and survival of lecturers amid galloping inflation.

How can you not trust your own committees and will still come up with another committee to review what the last committee did, and then set up another expanded committee to meet with the union again?.

“Now the situation is terrible. Lecturers are finding it difficult to come to the office due to the high cost of transportation. Those who come cannot concentrate due to many unmet needs. Now, professors are voluntarily resigning and relocating abroad, while first-class graduates don’t even show interest in lecturing, not to mention applying for the job. These events have consequences for the future of university education in Nigeria,” he said.