Why Is ASUU Surprised At Minister Ngige’s Sudden ‘Suspension’ Of Strike? -F.Collins Okafor

I’m surprised that ASUU and its members are surprised by the Minister Chris Ngige’s critical and controversial assertions on the reopening of the Universities in January. His statements, braided in strategic specificity, clarity and authority, strongly contain all the ingredients of a President’s, whose Union is on strike. Yet, Ngige is not a Union leader and had never being. He only excitedly spoke with strong conviction and passion as a village headmaster whose Area Education Inspector was on indefinite suspension. He is in charge, yes, he is, but very far from being ASUU President who should have issued such conclusive directive. However, his statements sounded so unequivocal as those of a man who was very sure of the antics and realities of his boss and pay master.

As a matter of fact, I did tell inquisitive minds and ASUU faithful some months back that, government was not ready for the reopening of the Universities this year, 2020. Instanta, some religious alarmists and Unionists came up with showers of “Holy Ghost Fire” and unverifiable evidence to the effect that coming up with such “unprogressive” thoughts was unbecoming of an academic; that going by the volatile nature of the Nigerian State that government would never try such – keeping the Universities’ gates shut for a long while. It did, without qualms.

Obviously, government’s unsolicited pronouncements and sudden payment of two months salaries this morning, are strong confirmation. It confirms the raging hypothesis that it’s not the strike that got the Universities shutdown for months but government’s deliberate decision to keep the students at home till January. Yes January 2021! Thus, Ngige’s Ulaga masquerade and its macabre dance all along, was only a buying-time-strategy in line with government’s ultimate objective. I heard someone said that Ngige shouldn’t have made that pronouncement since it was not the government that was on strike but ASUU. Hence, such statement should have come from ASUU President. I agreed as I laughed too. As a student of POWER, I wish to state categorically that I did not expect anything less from the government because he who pays the piper dictates the tune. All that the government needed do was grease the palms and joints of the striking teachers according to their demands and arrogantly “order” them back to the classrooms. That’s one of the disarming intriguing credentials of State power. Arrogance of power! It knows when to be diplomatic and when to be arrogant, when to offer carrot, stick or both and when to play “the fox and the lion”. That’s exactly what government has done. Political power is not shared in authoritarian regimes, it is allocated by the reigning Emperor according to the variations of his self-defined weather cock and it can swing either way. Government wanted ASUU to be on strike and only government decides when it wants the Universities to resume. It was the government that released all its war arsenal to force ASUU War Generals to the trenches. Now, same government can recall them back to the academic barracks through met-up demands and January becomes a reality.
It wants schools to reopen in January 2021 and they will, unless the second wave of COVID-19 inspires another total lockdown. They will, unless government has a rethink and wants the Geberals to be at home on regular salaries. It only needs to play ball on ASUU’s demands and fiaaaam, schools resume as all impotent noise disappears and a new battle-line drawn because Union-Government battle is consistent, persistent and a desideratum. It is a class thing that goes on ad-infinitum!

That’s the system one gets when power is unevenly shared but merely allocated, and when political and social institutions are crippled and forced to acquiesce to the caprices of a single Emperor or official cabal. As a matter of fact, I did send my clothes to the laundry last night and my children had started cleaning my shoes in preparation for January resumption. This is because I’m ‘almost’ sure we are back to school because government suggestively wants us to, and we will be back in January or better put, whenever governments wants the students on campus. And that is very shortly. Who says African governments are not powerful. They can easily withhold or release at will!

The implication of this didactic assertions is that in societies where systemic coherence is on sabbatical leave, only dismembered recurrent cohorts are at work. Pathetically, this crop of men on perpetual recesses, has sent everyone on vacation and can only recall everyone whenever it is tired of its own holidays and “nunc dimitis” is therefore, declared on all forms of tyrannically-induced recesses. They will simply pay the salaries as they want and show strong signs of commitment to ASUU demands not because to them, the demands are too strong, attractive or beneficial to the larger society, but mainlyvbecause, it has helped them to test and reassert their perpetual hold on public service and the intellectual base of the system. They are normally afraid of the thousands of the more enlightened young men and women being turned-out everyday by the Universities, hence, a slow down is urgently needed. They are afraid of incubating and hatching a repository platform for future generational agitations and attacks against enlightened conspiracies of the moments. They needed some breaks to brain-storm on their way forward while the trouble-makers are at home. The EndSAARS imbroglio is a timely signature-tune.

Novices on government functionalism and mechanism may not know that nothing edifies corrupt government Ministry officials as critical meetings with mouth-watering sitting allowances. ASUU-FGN negotiations fall within this category of social bazaar. Obviously, somebody does not wants the meetings to end. Mbanu! It must continue until the Emperor is satisfied and willing to let go, the mounting sitting allowances and the ‘respect” inherent in presiding over critical meetings and its attendant unending press attention. The exciting executive ‘gra-gra’ and rascality must not be cut short.

ASUU leadership must be commended for standing firm in forcing the government put a stop to its own madness. On the other hand, government should be “uncommended” for playing a bull in a Chinese shop on this matter. Fairly, government may be simply cited on this matter for allowing its unnecessary ‘madness’ cured by the exocist prowess of ASUU at a time such madness was simply an untamed exuberance. As we wait in joyful hope for resumption in January, lets hope that the unqualified announcer of this expected resumption(government) meets up with all its promises in order to withdraw the academic war Generals, currently in the trenches, back to the academic barracks. Nevertheless, existential reality confirms that only academic Generals have the inalienable mandate to recall their troops. In this case, one wonders when the Honourable Minister had attained that level of promotion as academic General. May it be on record too, that any resumption without specific agreement on renegotiated salaries which must go with the trends would be like the proverbial Hamlet without the Queen of Denmark. In all truthfulness, I like watching Ngige on prompted stage, but not with my salaries in his leaking pockets.