FUNAAB lecturers protest casualisation, half salary payment
Lecturers of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Ogun State, on Tuesday, staged a protest over the casualisation of lecturers in public universities as well as the payment of half salary to university lecturers by the Federal Government.
The protesters, under the aegis of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), FUNAAB branch, held the protest in line with the directive of the national leadership of the union.
The lecturers, who were clad in their academic gowns, carried placards with various inscriptions and marched round the campus chanting anti-government slogans.
Some of the inscriptions on their placards read: “Teachers teach the nation, but Ngige cheats the teachers”, “ASUU to FG: Academia cannot be casualised, teaching is not a casual endeavour”, “Buhari stop Ngige from jeopardising the future of Nigerian students” and “Hold anti-poor Buhari responsible for wasted eight months”.
Addressing a Special Congress of the union earlier, the Chairman of ASUU-FUNAAB, Dr. Oluwagbemiga Adeleye, urged lecturers not to be distracted by the antics of the Federal Government, but rather remain united and resolute in fighting the injustice being meted out to them.
Adeleye described the casualisation of university lecturers as a form of modern slavery, adding that it was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to the Nigeria’s education sector.
He accused the Federal Government of using the judiciary as a weapon to inflict more pains on members of the union.
Adeleye described the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration as a “deaf and dumb” government which, according to him, had failed to prioritise education and take the welfare of lecturers serious.
He said, “This (casualisation of university workers) is the most embarrassing state of the academia in Nigeria, it has never been this worse, it has never been this bad.
“Judiciary is no longer the hope of the common man, the judiciary is now being used to inflict more pains on the common man.
“We are in an era where we have to be united more than ever before to press home our demands. The leadership of the union directed that this congress and protest rally should be held across all the branches in Nigeria.”
Also speaking, the National Treasurer of ASUU, Prof. Olusiji Sowande, disclosed that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had vowed to declare a three-day warning strike should the Federal Government fail to address the casualisation of lecturers.
He also blamed the protracted crisis between ASUU and the Federal Government on the insensitivity of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige.
