The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), says it will appeal a court ruling, which directed the union to call off its nationwide strike.
The University of Abuja chapter chairman, Dr Kasim Umar, stated this while reacting to the order by court in Abuja, adding the national executive Council of ASUU will meet today to conclude modalities on the appeal process.
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), presided by Justice Polycarp Hamman, had earlier yesterday, ordered the striking lecturers to return to classrooms and to call off its on-going nationwide strike, now in its seventh month.
ASUU has been on strike since February 14, to press home their demand for improved funding for universities, a review of salaries for lecturers, among other issues.
Numerous meetings between ASUU and the federal government have ended in deadlock, until the federal government approached the court to challenge the strike.
The judge, who gave the order while on an application filed by the Federal Government, said the strike “has done irreparable damage to the lives of the affected students and the country’s education system.”
He added that the industrial action contravenes the Section 18(1)(2) of the Trade Disputes Act.
Delivering a ruling on the matter, the judge granted the federal government’s application for an interlocutory injunction to restrain ASUU from continuing with the strike.
He also ordered members of the union to resume work pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit, noting that the strike is detrimental to public university students who cannot afford to attend private tertiary institutions.
The order of the court is a catastrophe. When you force lecturers to class, can you force them to teach the students very well?
Court ruling, catastrophic
But reacting to the court ruling, ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who featured in a Channels Television programme, Politics Today, however, described the ruling as utterly catastrophic.
He said the court order was another evidence of the government’s lack of concern for the country’s education system, and decried its insincerity in the handling of the agreements reached by both parties.
Osodeke said: “No government thinking about the future of Nigerians will do that. The order of the court is a catastrophe. When you force lecturers to class, can you force them to teach the students very well?
“Our education system is not okay. The likely consequence of this sad development is that many lecturers will leave the country for better places. We need to be sincere with ourselves.
“Well, this is the first step. The union will meet with its solicitor and members for the next action. We are a union of intellectuals and won’t do anything contrary to the law.”
Also, the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Prof. Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed, advised the federal government to apply caution in handling the crisis with the union.
Reacting to the court judgment, Modibbo insisted that the court order cannot resolve the lingering crisis between ASUU and the government.
Rather, he appealed to both the government and ASUU to embrace dialogue in order to find a lasting solution to the strike, as just giving a fiat order was not a solution.
The only remedy to this strike action is for the Federal Government to accede to the demands of ASUU, which the government willingly entered into with them and properly fund education.
NANS reject ruling
Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has criticised the ruling, describing it as a betrayal of equity.
NANS National Public Relations Officer, Giwa Temitope, said the court’s decision does not offer a permanent solution to the dispute and that lecturers cannot be forced to resume their duties.
NANS said: “Ordinarily, the federal government is not meant to have dragged ASUU to court. But, the fact that they had to drag ASUU to court is a signal that this government cannot handle the crisis. And, we want to state categorically that the court cannot force members of ASUU back to lecture theatres.
“And, as it stands today, with that court judgment, we maintain that the court has not resolved the problem and we reject the judgment in strong terms.
The court could have said that the Federal Government should go and pay rather than say that lecturers who are on strike should go back to classrooms.
We were expecting the court to have understood that lecturers are on contract of personal service hence, they cannot be compelled to render a service they don’t want to render.
“The only remedy to this strike action is for the Federal Government to accede to the demands of ASUU which the government willingly entered into with them and properly fund education.”
