Reverend Chris Okotie has urged Nigerians to seek a lasting solution to the reoccurring academic strikes rather than celebrating the end of the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ long strike.
In a recent statement from Okotie’s media office in Lagos State, the clergyman stated that, while he is delighted that the ASUU strike had ended, he does not expect the incessant labour disputes to end unless professional associations are given legislative responsibilities, as outlined in his interim government proposal.
According to Okotie, regulatory associations should make statutes that regulate their domains of influence by virtue of their competence. In his opinion, ASUU should create laws for education while the medical association does the same for the health sector and so on, for the sake of economic stability.
“The challenges we have now is that a group of politicians congregate as legislature to be making laws in specialised areas they know little about. That’s the truth behind labour disputes in the country.
“The musical chairs of strikes and negotiations would continue to destabilise our economy until Aboriginal Democracy is accepted as the new political order in Nigeria,” he added.
Okotie argued that after what appears to be a momentary period of calmness in the educational sector, ASUU, like doctors and other Nigerian Labour Congress member-associations, would begin another cycle of strike.
Punch Metro had earlier reported that ASUU suspended its eight-month old strike on Friday after its overnight National Executive Council Meeting despite not having their demands fully addressed by the Federal Government.