Education is the bedrock of development -Okpebholo -- By Eubaldus Enahoro

The decision of the Academic Staff Union of  Universities, ASUU to commence another round of indefinite strike action  in state owned Universities will no doubt disrupt academic activities in the nations University system and this is not a good news

The development which has raised concerns among students and stakeholders comes amid growing tension between ASUU and University authorities over the implementation of the 2025 agreement between the Federal Government and the Union. ASUU has repeatedly raised concerns over unpaid salaries and allowances, promotion arrears and other welfare issues affecting university lecturers

It was after its National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Abuja on August 8 and 9 that ASUU authorised 20 university branches to begin the process of industrial action. The affected branches were directed to issue 14- day ultimatums to their respective authorities and commence strike action if their demands were not addressed

It is indeed a situation that calls for attention because every one should be deeply concerned with the severe impact of strike actions on our Universities across the country which has led in the past to loss of academic calendar and incalculable losses as it pertains to dislocations of learning process by affected university students

We all know that strike actions have also contributed significantly to the decline in the quality of graduates of our public universities as students are hurried with lectures as soon as such strike actions are called off. Also, as a result of hurried academic calendars little attention in most cases is paid to research which is an important component of academic pursuits

Another round of industrial action in the university is unacceptable and both parties to the dispute should always consider the future of the students first above all their considerations

In the light of the foregoing, while it is obvious that university lecturers will from time to time have legitimate grounds to be angry with their employers, the frequent resorts to the strike option is condemnable  and the government on the other hand should live to the expectations of agreements reached

It has been observed that government disputes with university teachers have  been largely due to broken promises and unfulfilled agreements, very often on the  part of the government. But it is expected that ASUU should equally resort to alternative dispute resolution mechanisms used by organized labour in other parts of the world to safe guard our public university system which is the only option available  to children of the less privileged in the society who would not be able to afford private university education

Now, ASUU must understand that the government at the state and federal levels alone cannot fund university education in Nigeria. It is therefore important for ASUU and university authorities to begin to look inwards for revenue generation because elsewhere, public universities research and business activities operated by the universities generate a substantial amount of income for funding teaching and learning

A situation where public universities depend almost  one hundred percent on government is unacceptable and it is on this score that the government should revisit the issue of university autonomy with a view to divesting its grip on the nations universities

While it is necessary for the government of the twenty states affected to take steps to implement the agreement with ASUU, the Governor of Edo State, senator Monday Okpebholo has demonstrated his resolve to ensure that the state owned Ambrose Ali University is adequately funded when he increased monthly subvention from ₦41 million to ₦500 million since November 2024

It would be recalled that the subvention was reduced from ₦270m under former Governor Adams Oshiomhole to ₦41m under former Governor Obaseki, which crippled operations in the University 

This intervention by Governor Okpebholo enabled prompt payment of workers’ salaries, settlement of pension obligations, and implementation of the new ₦70,000 minimum wage. Cleared salary and pension backlogs inherited from previous administration 

The action Governor also Inaugurated a new Governing Council for AAU and he Charged the council led by Chief Dan Orbih to restore the institution’s lost glory and all politically sacked staff by the defunct Special Intervention Team, SIT, were reinstated in line with his directive. This move was described by a political analyst as commitment to justice and rule of law

The Okpebholo led administration resolved medical and nursing students’ induction backlog and  Facilitated induction of over 1,000 Medical and Nursing students who had been stranded for 4 years and the 8-year AAU JAMB regularization issue, enabled over 1,000 students to regularize admissions and qualify for NYSC

The government has also embarked on the construction of a 500-room hostel for the Medical School, Ekpoma and the  special interventions to accelerate infrastructural development to ensure students and staff have necessary resources to thrive

There is the Ongoing dualisation of Ekpoma Road with concrete and fixing of street lights with support from President Bola Tinubu to ease suffering of students and commuters

It would be also noted that the former Acting Vice Chancellor Prof. Sunday Samuel said: “With Okpebholo’s N500 million monthly support, we have been able to promptly pay workers’ salaries... The labourer deserves his wages, and we are now living up to that principle”

The Governor also noted that the intervention represents a “dramatic shift” from the ₦41m allocation and has revived the institution, ending years of financial crisis 

Gov Okpebholo had remarked  that,“One of the first steps my administration took was increasing the university’s monthly subvention from N41 million to N500 million. This bold step reflects our commitment to AAU’s revival”

“Education is the bedrock of development, and Ambrose Alli University holds a special place in Edo State... it is our responsibility to restore its lost glory” 

Interestingly, most of these interventions started after Gov Okpebholo assumed office in late 2024 and he is Poised to improve on what he has started because he believes that education is the bedrock of development and ASUU should be considerate in its negotiation with Edo State government.

Eubaldus Enahoro was Former Editor of the Nigerian Observer Newspaper