There are still no foreseeable sight of resumption of academic activities in the state owned universities in the south east zone. This is because the lecturers and the Five Governors of the zone are still at logger head over the implementation of the Federal government/ASUU agreement reached in 2009.Academic activities has remained paralysed in this institutions since the past two months because the lecturers downed tools and sent the students on compulsory vacation to demand for implementation of federal government/ASUU agreement reached in 2009 by the south East governors. This ugly development is now taking a simmering dimension in view of the fact that National President of ASUU, Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie is bound to mobilize other state chapters of ASUU outside the south east zone to enforce south East governors to abide to the rule. If not, the state owned universities will remain indefinitely closed down.
The agreement between Federal government and academic staff union of universities reached in 2009 stems on proper funding of the institutions so as to endear qualitative education in the higher institutions. The vengeance of South east ASUU chapter is that while other zones of the country has started implementation of the agreement, the south east Governors has bluntly refused to do so in their own state owned universities amidst thec fact that they collect more allocation than some state of the federation where the implementation is already a process.
In addition to sending the students off campus, the South East ASUU chapter carried out a peaceful demonstration and protest across the five state capitals in the south east in the past one month. However, the governors has remained recaltrant in their decision and lukewarm attitude to address this situation. Governor Peter Obi who spoke on behalf of the governors forum after their last meeting on September 23rd,2010 at Enugu government house reiterated their earlier decision that the respective state universities are not bound to FGN/Asuu decision and each of the governors should form a committee to negotiate with their own state ASUU.
But professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, the national president of ASUU sees the south east governors decision as the greatest disregard and negligence for the education system in the zone and has fronted moves to compel the south east governors to comply with the decision of ASUU which are now being implemented in the other zones of the country. He told newsmen in Enugu on October 6,2010 after meeting with south east AsUU executives that the whole academic staff union of all Nigerian universities will join in a national 3 day strike from October 11th to 13th to open the deafening ears of the south east Governors. According to him, it will be the first in a series of strong and telling actions which will follow shortly after.
He stated, ’the current strike will continue as long as they compel it even if it takes them five years to make up their minds to either run their universities in the real sense of the institution or totally abolish. They must explain to their people sooner or later why they have criminally sabotaged their interest. Contrary to their expectation, no amount of muzzling, gang up or intimidation can solve the current impasse. This struggle can only escalate in the coming weeks, giving their present disposition and our members are ready and willing to make whatever sacrifices that are needed to protect the interest of the youths and people of the south east and the university culture and system’.
The Asuu national President said he was compelled to come down and usher in hopes to south east ASUU on the struggle by calling all body to join in the 3 day sympathy strike because he found out the south east governors are playing to the gallery, in a problem that can easily take less than one week to resolve. But by the idea of referring and setting up their respective committee is a deliberate delay tactics because each of the committee may take up a month to sit and there after write their reports and recommendation before a white paper will be released as was the case in Abia state university and Evans Enwerem universities while the Enugu state government decided to challenge it’s state ASUU in an industrial court.
