From Atiku Sarki, Abuja
Members of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) were in Abuja on Thursday 18th July 2024 protesting over the non-payment of their four months’ salaries by the federal government.
Members of the two Unions who were also last week Tuesday also had a protest at their state branches and the FCT.
The national protest by two Unions and other citizens was aimed at giving strong warning strike if the federal government failed to pay their four months’ salaries and to address other challenges facing the unions
Gathered in large numbers between the hours of 7:30 am and 9:00 am at the Unity Fountain in Abuja where the protest was to commence before moving to the streets of Abuja and other government agencies including the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment and the Federal Ministry of Education among other places, but the security agencies most especially the police were blocked them and could not allow them to exercise their fundamental human rights.
According to the security agencies, due to some of the crimes and other challenges in the FCT, they want to secure the capital city and if they allow the national protest to be held in the streets of Abuja it can easily bring more harm than good.
At Unity Fountain, the aggrieved members of the two Unions who have gathered in thousands with plat cards all in their hands demanded “Pay us what you owe us, we are not beggars.
“We are citizens, not slaves. “Let the non-teaching staff breathe, “We need adequate funding to our state universities and what is good for the goose is good for the gander ” among other demands.
Addressing the two Union members by their leaders, the Chairman, Joint Action Committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU, Comrade Barrister (Dr.) Hassan Makudo, the president of SSANU, Comrade Prince Peters Adeyemi JP and the General Secretary of NASU, Comrade Mohamed Haruna Ibrahim commended the efforts put in place by their members and other citizens for coming out in large numbers and protested their fundamental rights which the government is failing to protect them.
The leaders of the Unions while calling on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as a matter of urgency to pay their members the four months’ salaries that the government is owning them and address other challenges facing their members, they also warned that failure to do so would result in a total shutdown of the universities by the Unions.
According to them, the national protest carried out by their members was a good final in which letters of their demands and actions would taken to the Minister of Education and his courter part the state Minister of Labour and Employment and between now and next week if their demands could not meet then they have no choice but to go on definite strike.
On the issue of why the security agencies could not allow them to hold their protest in the Streets of Abuja but ended up at the Unity Fountain, the leaders of the unions told newsmen that before the date for the national protest was fixed, appropriate authorities including the security agencies were fully informed about the planned protest.
They said their protest was not aimed to cause any trouble or undermine and abuse anybody but rather to make a peaceful protest on issues affecting them.
Earlier in their address, the Deputy National President of SSANU, Comrade (Dr.)Ador Leku, the Deputy National President of NASU, Comrade Buhari Suleiman and the Vice President of SSANU, Comrade Abdussobur Salaam thanked their members for their passion and interest they have shown in coming to Abuja to protest unpaid four months’ salaries to their members by the federal government.
They, however, promised that the two leaderships of NASU and SSANU would continue to see that the interests of their members are being protected.
It was recalled that since 2002, members of the two Unions have been battling with some of the issues including their four months unpaid salaries by the government.
