The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), for the second time, has been ordered to call off its eight-month-old strike and resume work immediately by the Court of Appeal on Friday, in a three-member panel of the court ruling led by Justice Hamma Barka.

ASUU got the first order to resume from the National Industrial Court on September 21, in a ruling delivered by Justice Polycarp Hamman, following an application that the Federal Government filed for an interlocutory order to compel the union to resume.

The Federal Government’s lawyer, Mr. James Igwe, contended that under Section 18(1)E of the Trade Dispute Act,  “employees could not continue a strike when a matter was already referred to the Industrial Court for adjudication”.

Dissatisfied with the Industrial Court’s ruling, ASUU headed to the Appeal Court to appeal the ruling and file a stay of execution of the ruling of the Industrial Court.

READ ALSO: “We Have Seen Light At The End Of The Tunnel” – ASUU

Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal in Abuja granted the application for leave to appeal filed by ASUU which allows ASUU to challenge the interlocutory order issued on September 21, by the National Industrial Court, but struck out ASUU’s request for stay of execution of the Industrial Court’s order.

The Court of Appeal gave the union seven days to file its notice of appeal against the order issued by the National Industrial Court, in which the union must have re-opened universities and resumed. Failure to do this, the order to appeal against the interlocutory injunction of the National Industrial Court “will be automatically vacated.”

Barka, in the lead ruling, said: “I am inclined to grant the application to appeal the decision of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. But, the order of the lower court shall be immediately obeyed.”

Another threat arose against ASUU when the Federal Government threatened to withdraw ASUU’s registration license for allegedly not submitting its audited financial returns for over five years.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, registered two university unions last week.

They are the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA).

CONUA was formed in October 2019 as a break-away faction of ASUU after a disagreement on some issues in 2018.

With the registration to the unions, universities now have three academic unions, ASUU, CONUA, and NAMDA.

To justify his decision, Ngige cited some of the institutions where teachers willing to resume classes were obstructed by ASUU officials. He also noted that some medical doctors who teach in the various medical schools/college of medicine had carried on with teaching at the universities of Maiduguri, Bauchi, and Sokoto, and had graduated their new doctors despite the ASUU strike.

National Coordinator of CONUA Niyi Sumonu promised that they would work to ensure that this country was not traumatised again by the strike.

However, with ASUU President Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke saying there is “light at the end of the tunnel” after a meeting with Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila in Abuja on Monday, students in ASUU-affiliated universities are eager to resume after almost eight-month break.

A 200-Level student of Social Studies Education at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, Idowu Olamilekan Emmanuel, said: “ASUU is an association of learned and enlightened people whom the society relies on to eradicate ignorance and illiteracy via their services. Meanwhile, the same group of people should not disobey the law as they teach the supremacy of the law.

“Although they might have their agitation or struggles, it is good they are ready to shift ground and resume classes,” he said.

On his journey as a student affected by the strike, Emmanuel said: “The strike has done more harm than good and I am tired. Hopefully, with the outcome of the meeting, indeed it hoped they would resume in a matter of days. Despite claiming their rights from the government, they should always put students in mind.”

Azegba Chisom Emmanuella, a 400-Level student of Economics at Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), Ijagun, Ogun State, said the resumption was long overdue.

“ASUU should have resumed operations because the government appeared unwilling to meet their demands.

“Our lecturers waited for over six months and nothing was done. These teachers have families to support and their students’ education has suffered as a result. Now that there is a favourable outcome from their meeting with the Speaker, we are ready to resume.”

Nwobi Chidubem Valentine, a 400-Level student of Medical Laboratory Science at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), said ASUU should retreat and restrategise, adding that students were ready to resume.

He said he was tired of the strike because he doesn’t want to spend 16 years in school studying a five-year course all because of strike, whereas he has a career to build outside school.

For Benedict Omoodion Ebhodaghe, a 200-Level student of Electrical/ Electronic Engineering at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), he is glad ASUU might call off the strike following the intervention of Gbajabiamila.

A 200-Level student of Guidance and Counselling at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Opeyemi Samuel, said: “We are expectant of resumption. ASUU should resume and continue negotiations. The union is fighting for its rights seemingly at the wrong time.

“With both court rulings, there is nothing ASUU can do again except to resume and go ahead with further roundtable discussion on their demands.”

He noted that the strike had forced him to be a businessman. He complained of time wasting, since he has many things to do after his education.

Oluwasegun Godswill, a 200-Level student of  Law at the  University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), said the only viable next course of action for ASUU was to obey the court’s order and return to class.

She said: “It is known that they cannot proceed to take this case legally any further for a few reasons. The Appeal Court has not thrown the case out but has only asked that lecturers to return to classes before the case is looked at which implies that the verdict of the Appeal Court might still favour ASUU in the long run based on their obedience to the condition placed by the court.

“If the Appeal Court ruled in favour of the government, ASUU would not take the matter any further to the Supreme Court, which would have been the last resort to appeal their case. But with the latest development, we are happy and eager to resume without further waste of time.”

Amadin Hope, a 200-Level student of Social Studies Education at OOU, said: “As students, we’re tired of the ongoing strike because our lives, future, and career are at stake. Wanting to study and studying for prolonged years is disheartening and discouraging and it‘ll lead us nowhere. Anyway, we are ready and hopeful of going back to our campuses since ‘there is light at the end of the tunnel’ according to ASUU President Osodeke.”

A 200-Level student of Accounting at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Itunuoluwa Blessing Adejumo, advised ASUU to resume soon after talks with Speaker Gbajabiamila.

She noted that students were delighted with the outcome of the meeting.

“Moreover, they are not the only ones affected. We students that are paying school fees and not defaulting are mostly affected,” she said.

On the registration of CONUA and NAMDA, she said: “If  ASUU is not careful, it may become a forgotten union, hence, it needs to call for a truce now.”

Abdulrasheed Hammad, a 400-Level student of Law at the Usmanu Dan Fodio University Sokoto (UDUS), advised ASUU to resume because the strike has not yielded a positive response ever since it commenced.

He said even if he was supporting the union’s action, he was already fed up and expecting a suspension of the industrial action.

“In 2020, ASUU embarked on a long-term strike and yet there’s nothing to show for it. The same thing now. I am very tired, ready to resume. The union should suspend it,” he said.

Yusuf Aderibigbe, a 300-Level student of Biochemistry at the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB), said ASUU being a lawful union should heed to the court’s decision since the Federal Government was ready to shift ground.

“Everyone well-versed in the ASUU/Fed Govt saga knows ASUU is fighting for Nigeria’s rapidly-deteriorating education system and it’s members’ welfare,” he said.

Aderibigbe said the strike needed to be called off because the zeal for academic excellence might reduce or even dissipate and all everyone will want to do is to just graduate and leave the system.

A 300-Level student of Mass Communication at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Faith Ojo, said ASUU should resume, go back to class and continue further negotiations. She said students could not wait to resume after the long wait.

Meanwhile, Ojo advised that if negotiations were not fruitful, then they could embark on the strike again.