29/04/2026
Did President Tinubu really stop ASUU strike?
Did President Tinubu Really Stop ASUU strikes?
I started my long academic journey in 2020. I got admitted to study Law in 2019, a prestigious course I would add. I was excited about resumption like any normal kid would.
I planned my life, as someone who got admitted the-same year I graduated from Secondary School. After maybe four and a half years I will be graduating, I said to myself. In fact, my JAMB admission letter stated that my graduation year was 2024.
I resumed early January and this is unusual for me because I love to resume late, not that late o. I was just excited. I did my Matric in February of 2020. Studies and lectures were already getting serious until ASUU hit everyone with 2 Weeks warning strike. ASUU strike was dreadful and to some, exciting especially when it comes to slow down the fast pace with which Universities calendar was going.
From what started like a warning strike, metamorphosed into one of the longest strike in Nigeria’s strike history. I think the 2020 Covid outbreak helped to worsen the situation. During that period, negotiations were slow and often hitting deadlock as priority was shifted to Covid 19. The strike lasted for approximately 8 months.
This 8 months was approximately one academic year stolen from every student. One thing that stood out was the fact that during this strike, lecturers were dutifully paid their salaries. This strike felt to them like a paid vacation.
In 2022, after yet another failed attempt to get the government to meet the 2009 agreements, ASUU struck again. This time lasting for 9 months, the longest ever. Prof Osodeke was hellbent on striking until Government gets serious about meeting their needs. Then came along Dr Chris Ngige the then minister of Labor and Employment.
He wanted a quick way out of this already prolonged strike. He did what no other successive government did. He enforced the No work, No pay, labor policy and like that, ASUU was starved into submission.
I remember seeing lecturers, honorable academics venturing to transport business just to survive the last days of the strike. It was one hard blow by Chris Ngige.
Since the prolonged 2022 ASUU strikes , the Academic community has not recovered from the PTSD of non-payment of Salary.
The renegotiated agreement ASUU had with the Ministry of Education and Labour last year would not have materialized but for the No work, No Pay policy. It was a painful compromise by ASUU.
President Tinubu did not do anything special to stop further ASUU strike. The government had just learnt how to use the master key, all thanks to Dr Chris Ngige.
