ASUU Strike: Nigerian Lecturer Who Rejected Top Job In UAE University Speaks

A lecturer at the Bayero University Kano (BUK), Mohammed Shaibu Atabo, has weighed in the ongoing ASUU strike.

He lamented the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The lecturer who rejected a job offer in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) months before ASUU embarked on strike on February 14, 2022, said he chose to stay back in Nigeria out of patriotism.

The lecturers had down tools over the failure of the Federal Government to meet their demands which include the revitalisation of public universities, payment of earned academic allowances and the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) for payment of university lecturers’ salaries, among others.

Since the industrial action began, several negotiations between the union and the government have ended in deadlock.

In a Facebook post, Atabo said Wednesday made it exactly a year since he turned down the offer of appointment from the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Dubai.

“This was a tough decision I made out of patriotism for my country. I chose to stay back and work in BUK rather than go abroad. I received harsh criticism from my family and friends for making this decision,” he said

He said after six months of the strike by the union, instead of the government to address the issue, its best solution was to blackmail ASUU and threaten “us with ‘No Work, No Pay’'”

His post reads: “A job opportunity to work in Dubai came soon after I obtained my PhD from UDUS and a lecturing job offer from Bayero University Kano (BUK).

“Today marks precisely one year since I turned down the offer of appointment from the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Dubai (for easy reference).

“This was a tough decision I made out of patriotism for my country. I chose to stay back and work in BUK rather than go abroad. I received harsh criticism from my family and friends for making this decision.

“Yes, I applied for the job at UAEU and I was interviewed. Out of over 200 applicants from around the world, I was selected as the top prospect. It was after all preparations were made and I was on the verge of leaving the country that I realized I was not ready to trade my job in Nigeria for the sake of moving abroad.

“Today, those of us in academia who chose to stay back are paying a bitter price because our government entered into several agreements with ASUU and failed to implement them. Gosh!! These are agreements our government voluntarily entered into and signed several years ago. After six months of ASUU strike, instead of our government addressing the issue, its best solution was to blackmail ASUU and threaten us with ‘‘No Work, No Pay’’

“No wonder our generation is now a ‘Japa generation,’ people now leave this country at the slightest opportunity. We are slaves in our own country.”

On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari raised another panel to look into the demands of the lecturers.