ASUU Strike: Goment no care about scholars if dem fit put us for hunger strike" — Professor Ogunyemi
Di National President of di Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, don tok say na now scholars for Nigeria go know if di goment care about dem or dem go fit leave dem make hunger finish dem.
Wen President Buhari and ASUU hold meeting on IPPIS for early January 2020 ASUU - di joinbodi of vuniversity lecturers for Nigeria start nationwide strike on Monday 23 March, 2020 till further notice to call goment attention to di demands wey dem don dey ask since. Ogunyemi, wey follow BBC Pidgin tok after dem announce di strike, say e dey necessary for di joinbodi of lecturer to show di goment say dem serious. But plenty pipo for social media dey worry if di strike go get effect now wey di kontri dey worry about coronavirus. Some students even dey tok say di strike no go get any effect as student dey house and goment don lock universityies. Last week, di Nigerian goment tok say make every school, including university shut down, sake of coronavirus diseases wey don spread for almost all di kontri of di world. Now wey schools don close, and lecturers sef no dey go school, Nigerians for social media tok say di strike don dey useless. "If our members no tell Nigerians' say di goment dey assault dem with hunger, pipo go think say everitin dey normal. Covid-19 or no Covid-19, dis goment no care about im scholars. If a goment fit visit im scholars wit hunger for time wey everybody dey show kindness," Ogunyemi tell BBC pidgin. Wetin be ASUU demands for di new strike? Di joinbodi of lecturers for di kontri don warn goment before say dem go start nationwide strike if goment no put ears for ground hear wetin em dey tok. But wetin scatter ground dis time, na sake of say goment hold salary of lecturers. Minister for Finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, don threaten say lecturer wey no register for di Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), no go collect February salary. ASUU dey disagree with di goment on top di use of di IPPIS. DI joinbodi tok say dem no fit register for IPPIS as di payroll application no go fit work for some special activities of im members. ASUU con develop im own payroll application, wey dem call the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) and tell goment say na only dis application dem go gree use. ASUU first go on warning strike for two weeks. DI warning strike end today but as goment never pay some lecturers February and March salaries, na im di joinbody vex say dem dey start indefinite strike. "Wetin trigger dis nationwide strike na because goment hold salary of our members," Ogunyemi Tell BBC. Apart from di IPPIS and salary matter, di joinbodi also dey hold goment to honour di agreement wey di two parties agree for 3013 and further strengthened for February 2019. DI issues for di memorandum of understanding na on stop welfare lecturer and proper funding of universities for Nigeria. Ogunyemi tok say goment too dey play lip service to di agreement. For February 2019 just before fi general election, Nigeria Federal Goment bin release N16.8 billion for universities to use settle salary igbese of lecturers for di kontri higher institutions. But e belike say maore scores like di use of IPPIS for lecturers still dey to settle.