THE ACADEMIC Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Sunday elected Prof. Chris Piwuna as its new president.
Prof Piwuna, a distinguished consultant psychiatrist at the University of Jos Teaching Hospital (JUTH) and current Dean of Student Affairs at the University of Jos (UNIJOS), emerged after an election at the end of ASUU’s 23rd National Delegates Conference held in Benin on Sunday.
Piwuna defeated Prof. Adamu Babayo of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi and succeeds Prof. Victor Osodeke, a soil science expert from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, whose tenure witnessed prolonged industrial actions over unmet demands bordering on welfare, earned allowance, university autonomy and infrastructure.
A New President, Old Challenges
Prof. Piwuna’s election comes in the face of the old and unresolved issues that have defined ASUU’s struggles in an effort to restore dignity to Nigeria’s university system.
Although ASUU has been quite and gone without a strike since its last and record strike that lasted over ten months, it has been a quietness of the cemetery — with recent speculations that another strike may be imminent.
Key grievances for a new industrial strike include, disputes over the sharing formula of the recently released N50 billion for Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); the worsening brain drain as lecturers flee abroad for better opportunities; and government neglect of university funding and welfare.
Is ASUU Losing Its Strike Power?
Analysts are divided on why ASUU has remained relatively quiet in recent times. Some suggest the Federal Government has become more responsive, while others argue that ASUU may be suffering from strike fatigue, dwindling member morale, or declining public support.
Nigeria’s University System in Crisis
Beyond strike threats, Nigeria’s tertiary education sector is grappling with deep-rooted systemic failures — outdated curricula that fail to meet global standards; dilapidated facilities (libraries, laboratories, and lecture halls in disrepair), poor staff-to-student ratios, leading to overcrowded classrooms; antiquated pay structures, making academia unattractive, and poor university governance, where even simple tasks like obtaining transcripts or recommendation letters become bureaucratic nightmares.
Despite interventions like TETFund, critics argue that funds are mismanaged in Nigeria’s typical fashion — throwing money at problems without strategic implementation.
ASUU’s Image Problem and the Fight for Quality Education
Since the decline or death of altruistic student unionism in Nigeria, ASUU has remained the primary advocate for quality education, but its image has also dimmed due to public misreading of its struggles, with many Nigerians interpreting ASUU’s strikes as self-serving – failing to recognize that the ultimate beneficiaries of the union’s demands for better funding, improved infrastructure, and academic excellence are students and parents.
A New Dawn or More of the Same?
With Prof. Piwuna’s emergence, stakeholders are cautiously optimistic. Will his leadership steer ASUU and the Federal Government toward constructive engagement?
One thing is certain: Nigeria’s education system stands at a crossroads, and the choices made today will determine whether its universities rise from the ashes or sink deeper into irrelevance. The nation watches.
