ASUU Strike: Clergyman decries method, says it’s outdated, counter productive

Rev. Tope Olu-Daramola, General Overseer of the Redemption Chapels International, Ado-Ekiti, has condemned the use of strike as strategy by labour unions to press home their demands as archaic, outdated and counter productive.

Olu-Daramola, who was reacting to the prolonged strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), advised the leadership of the union to adopt new result-oriented strategies to resolve its disagreement with the Federal and State Governments.

The religious leader’s advice is contained in a statement entitled, ‘My view on the strike by Nigerian Universities: Lecturers use your brain not brawn’, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Ado-Ekiti on Monday.

According to him, “Democracy is all about talking on issues from one person to another person, using greater reasoning and logic.

“That is why the only difference between a military government and the civilian government is the existence of the legislature.

“It is unfortunate that people who are supposed to be Intellectuals have to resort to brawns rather than brains to solve problems and issues.

“I am not saying that government is right in its approach, but the method being used by our learned lecturers to fight their righteous course is archaic, outdated, barbaric and counter productive.

“Under a democratic government, strike is counter productive, and I expect the learned lecturers to know better.

“By and large, politicians will come and go. President and Governors have a maximum of eight years of two terms. An academic has a career span of possibly about 40 years or more.

“It is therefore unreasonable for lecturers to allow the university system and structure to be destroyed as it is being done now because they are in conflict with the government,” he said.

The religious leader pleaded with the leadership of ASUU to consider the plight of students and their parents and return to work while they considered the option of round table negotiation to resolve the impasse .

ASUU, which has had to extend its warning strike embarked on Feb 14, has again extended the strike indefinitely as its warning strike ended on Monday.