President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, has declared that neither leadership nor members of the union have any interest in pleasing any government in the country.
Emmanuel Osodeke was speaking at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi on Saturday during the disbursement of scholarships to 19 indigent students by the Bauchi Zone of ASUU, which comprises universities.
Represented by his Deputy, Associate Prof. Christopher Piwuna, the ASUU President declared that, “We have no interest, let it be on record, we have no interest whatsoever, to please any government in the country.”
According to him, “Our goal is not to please any government; our goal is not to praise any government; indeed, we will continue to rise against policies of the government that are having negative effects on Nigeria’s citizens and our members; that is our goal.”
He added, And so, we want to reassure Nigerians, particularly Nigerian students, that as parents, as your mentors, as those who guide you, we will continue to look after you, and this scholarship today is just one of the many things that we will continue to do.”
“Today, those who represent our history are Professors Vonchir and Namu here; we are always proud of them, as well as other Comrades who are here and our dear students. From today on, you have become associate members of ASUU, and so we expect that on your campuses, you will be doing what ASUU is doing,” he added.
The ASUU President stressed that “what ASUU does is: protect our members, their interests and everything that concerns them, their relationships with their employers, relationships within the campuses, and anything that will advance their welfare; those are what ASUU does. The next thing that ASUU does is to protect the interest of Nigerians.’
According to him, “Our constitution in ASUU stipulates that we must, we will; it is a must, it is a will to continue to have interest in the socio-economic and cultural policies of the government and how they affect Nigerians; that is one responsibility; we have no plans whatsoever, under whatever condition to let go.”
Emmanuel Osodeke added, “We will continue to fight for Nigerians; we will continue to fight for the educational system in the country.”
Talking about ASUU, he said, “For students, those of you who do not know, the history of ASUU started in 1969; at that time, it was known as the Nigeria Academic Association of University Teachers (NAUT).”
According to him, “We became ASUU in 1978 with a dwindling economic situation in the country; the oil boom had gone, and the policies of the government were becoming more and more repressive and intolerable for Nigerians. So, you can see our evolution is tied to the state; it was at that time that we brought our interest and our responsibilities to include the socio-economic and cultural policies of Nigeria.”
The ASUU President further said that, “We started to make more forceful comments about the state of our economy, the social conditions our people were living in, and indeed, the cultural state of the country. This is the history of ASUU.”
“We have had several agreements; I challenge you, as students, to go online and check all the agreements of ASUU with the government; they are online, and you will see that there is nothing other than the over-urging demand and interest of ASUU to ensure that all the skills gaps, the research, and the infrastructural decay in the system are improved,” he stressed.
According to him, from 1992 to now, that is why you see everything on the campuses: ETF or TETFund, and now we have the Needs Assessment. Some of you here were probably still, certainly, in primary schools or maybe secondary schools when this needs assessment issue came up. I can see sciences, chemistry, and all of that.”
He further said, There was a time in the universities that they were using stoves as burning burners; it was ASUU that spoke against it to the state, and that is why your labs are better today. There was a time in Nigerian universities when toilets were converted into living rooms for students; it was ASUU that spoke against it and changed the narrative today.”
He continued that, “There was a time in Nigerian universities when, as Fela stared, 40 were sitting and 99 were standing; that was how our lecture halls were; students were hanging by the windows, standing all over. That story is changing, and it was because ASUU took an interest in it.”
“Tell me, today anywhere in your universities, that you cannot point at something that ASUU has done; it is your welfare; it is your future that we are fighting for. Prof. Vunchir and Namu must be thinking of retirement because they have been professors for a long time. Of what interest is it for them to go on strike and stop all of you from getting a future if it is not because of the interest they have in you?” he stressed.
Emmanuel Osodeke further stressed, So, we want you to go back and take this gospel of ASUU and share it with all your friends; as we said, in ASUU, we don’t have any interest whatsoever to please the government; we will protect our members and will protect the interests of Nigerians.”
He then charged the students, saying, “When you go back to your universities, let there be justice in your departments, and among you students, insist that your leaders are fair, truthful, and whatever responsibilities you give to your members in SUG or NANS, that they are accountable to you.”
He said, “That is what we are pursuing at ASUU, and we don’t expect anything less from you people. As you go forward, we wish you the best in your studies. We assure you that we will always be there for you. These are your chairmen here, all of you seated here; if you see something that is wrong in your university, say it to them; if you see anything that can be improved, tell them; we expect you to, by this scholarship, be ambassadors of ASUU and Nigeria.”
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