ASUU Strike: A Lecturer Speaks

For lazy readers like me, this is a
summary of the write-up below (but I do
plead with you to read through as much
as you can)
1. I am an academic and I want to inform
people about the issues at stake; I have
only honest motives
2. Tertiary education is extremely expensive
but nobody, government or parents, wants
to pay for it
3. If money is not injected into education
(especially tertiary education), not only will
we remain a perpetual developing country,
but Ghana may become the sub-regional
power
4. The selfish part of our strike is to
demand for allowances that we have
*earned*, and that government promised.
However, the part government finds most
difficult is the part where we demand for
what they consider outrageous amounts to
improve our infrastructure
5. People sometimes demand that ASUU
shut up and put up with current working
conditions, when it is these same
conditions that prevents the system from
employing the exceptional lecturers that
will put an end to the problems such
people observe.
6. Regretfully, students are the ones who
suffer the most from the strike. It is true
that it places endless suffering on them,
however, there is a silver lining because
most students will end up benefiting in
some way
7. Students do not need to idle away the
time during the strike. They can turn the
loss into a net gain of sorts.
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A. WHO I AM; MY MOTIVES
1. You’re a lecturer and you’re here
to speak candidly about the ASUU
strike?
Yes. However, I dislike the term “lecturer”. I
see myself as an academic. I only used the
word in the title to ensure that all
Nairalanders know what I am.
2. So why are you here?
I have been going through comments
about the strike on this site for some time,
and I got to a stage where I couldn’t take it
in silence any more. As a teacher, I am
never happy to see ignorance around me.
“All that is needed for the triumph of evil is
that good men do nothing”.
3. Is that why you have been
dumping long answers on
Nairalanders for two days?
Yes. It is my intention to wipe out as much
of the ignorance as I can. I have tried to
insert myself into various threads, hoping
that one of them would catch fire and get
hundreds of comments. However, not many
Nairalanders have engaged me. I have felt
like Hrothgar in the Beowulf movie,
shouting “…fight me, dammit!” at people,
but I guess the “prof” in my username,
coupled with the huge power distance in
Nigeria, discourages students from
engaging someone they consider an elder.
Of which I feel like telling them: “dude, this
is the internet. I could call myself Bill
Clinton; doesn’t mean I am number 42!”.
4. So you’re a spokesman for ASUU?
Not at all. I am here only in my capacity as
a teacher who is passionate about the
future of this country, and who wants to
educate people about the issues at stake. I
am a member of the union, but I am also a
man with very strongly-held beliefs. My
views and the unions are not always
coterminous. Having said that, I believe in
the current strike action.
5. You seem to be going for the
record of longest post in Nairaland
history. What makes you think
people will read this garbage?
I doubt that most people will read more
than a few lines, and that says something
about the state of our education, as most
Nairalanders are educated to the tertiary
level. For me however, this is a labor of
love. If only one person goes through, it
would have been worth it.
6. Is there anything you want to say
to those who decide to read part of
it?
I suspect most of you came here with the
belief that ASUU is a greedy pack of so-
and-sos holding you back. That’s fine. What
I ask however is, if you are going to read
this at all, do so with an open mind, and
decide for yourself what is happening here.
And please don’t quote the full post in
your responses, otherwise Seun might need
a new hard disk!
7. Is this a real interview?
Not really I have used a question and
answer format to make a painfully long
write-up more readable. Also, I have tried
to group the answers into sections which
people can jump to as they wish.

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