The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali, in this interview with SUCCESS NWOGU, bares his mind on the ongoing ASUU strike, saying it is time to take decisions and not to apportion blames
What is your position on the current face-off between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities?
I think a decision has to be taken. They have dialogued for so long and people have intervened. I am sure that the current position taken by the FG was not an easy decision taken. I think probably that as the last option opened to them. I learnt that the Federal Government had instructed various councils of universities to open the campuses for students to resume their studies.
But do you think that will resolve the issues at stake?
I think if the promises made by FG to the universities in terms of the offers that have made, it will go a long way in ameliorating the challenges faced by the federal universities across the country.
But it appears that the major contention now is that ASUU is asking that the four months arrears of their salaries during the strike be paid to them and FG in reaction, FG took its current stand.
Is the demand by ASUU for salary arrears is not justifiable?
These days when you go for dialogue, there usually should be sacrifices on both sides. People have to concede one thing or the other but I think this little difference is something that could be ironed out behind closed doors.
Before the current FG stand, ASUU had insisted that government should implement the agreement it reached with them in 2009. Do you think that the content of that agreement can revamp public universities?
I have a strong feeling that it will because if you have increased funding, more autonomy, all those things will go a long way to improve the atmosphere of the universities for proper teaching and learning, as well as community services.
With the state of the nation’s universities, do you think there is the need to spend more than what FG is proposing?
No amount of money given to anybody is enough but I think that what has been offered will go a long way in solving some of the immediate problems in our universities.
Considering that nine more universities were created in 2011, ASUU thinks the N1.2trn in three years agreed in 2009 should have been reviewed upwards. What do you think?
I think that what was agreed upon in 2009 should be fully implemented first, then we can assess how far we are able to achieve, then we then can talk of the differences that need further attention.
What do you think of FG’s threat to sack lecturers now if they do not resume on Monday when all they are asking for now is their four months salaries arrears?
I feel that there should be listening ears on both sides, especially on the side of the more power one. What everybody is clamouring for is better education, more access to better education, and better quality of education in our universities. I think everybody should understand each other and know that we are all working towards improving education in this country.
ASUU has accused FG of being insensitive and attempting to rubbish their agreement of 2009. What’s do you think of it?
As I said, review, monitoring and implementation of agreement should be a continuous process. Once agreement is signed, the implementation should be monitored. It should not be left for so long without anybody raising alarm and without anybody intervening because education is a collective responsibility of all Nigerians irrespective of where we are.
We are either fathers, grand fathers or guardians, so education is important so things should be done at the appropriate time before institutions begin to deteriorate to the level we are experiencing now.
Even though UNILORIN is not affected by the strike, how do you feel about the prolonged ASUU strike?
I feel sad and I feel concerned. I hope that the matter will be amicably resolved and our campuses will be open so that people can have access to education. We are very concerned here in Ilorin because no matter how well safe you are and no matter the availability of food you have in your house, if your neighbours are hungry, as a caring and responsible human being with conscience, you will not feel happy. So UNILORIN is concerned about other universities that are on strike and we hope that they will open very soon so that campuses will come alive once again.
Is prolonged strike not inimical to educational development?
Without strike, Nigeria could enjoy better education.
Are you satisfied with the quality of infrastructure in Nigerian federal universities?
I am concerned about the constant strike and closure of universities I am also concerned about infrastructure in universities. I think we can have better quality of education if we have uninterrupted academic calender, better funding, peace on our campuses.
Are there other measures that can be adopted to advance education in Nigeria to be in tandem with global best practices?
Yes! If collectively we convince ourselves that education is a collective responsibility of all of us, we will be able to have better education in future.
When you go to other developed countries, the funding of education and the activities going on in all our education institutions are not left solely for the government.
You find other interested parties showing greater concern. For instance, the alumni of each universities do look back and inject a lot of funds into their universities. By so doing, the universities can augment whatever is given to them. If you look at this country, you will find out that a lot of parents are investing so much on the education of their children at the lower level. At the kindergarten, primary school and secondary school, a lot of people are spending quite a lot of money to fund education of their children.
They are concerned about the quality of education at that level, which means that when they come to the tertiary level, they should identify areas where they can help the university so that their wards can get better education.
Since FG and ASUU appeared to have agreed on the resolution of the crisis before the latest development, what is your advice to the two parties on how to resolve the imbroglio?
I know that both parties know what they are doing and they have come all this way since they have been dialoguing and trying to find solution. They have come a long way and this is just the last bit that will cap their efforts, I urge them to please end it amicably.
There is the clamour that Nigerian universities or tertiary institutions should tailor their researches to societal needs. What is you take?
I think they are right but the society should also be ready to implement and practicalise our research findings. People should not expect universities to go to the lab, bring out innovations and still be the ones to source for funding to go into commercial production or inventions of whatever they have come up with.
There should be division of labour. Each party should be able to shoulder its own responsibility. The researchers, our universities should use their brain to bring up innovations and better ways of achieving what is going on in the industries.
The industries should also be ready to fund such researchers, go into commercial production of their research findings where we expect researchers or scientists in the university to be the practical person to bring up the prototype and still the business man to go into commercial production, the marketing man to market the produce, we are asking for too much from the researchers.
They should be left to bring up innovations and products that they think will better the lives of the Nigerian people.
The businessmen in the country should be ready to partner with such researcher and commercialise whatever inventions the researchers are able to come up with.
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