Lecturers in Nigeria’s 58 public universities began a week-long ‘warning’ strike Monday to press for the reinstatement of 49 of their colleagues, who were sacked for participating in a strike in 2001. The warning strike could snowball into a drawn-out work stoppage if the authorities failed to resolve the lingering issue, which has been one of the main reasons for the incessant strikes by the university teachers. President of the umbrella Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Abdullahi Sule-Kano, said at the weekend the federal government had so far refused to reinstate the sacked teachers, all from the University of Ilorin in central Nigeria, despite the efforts of the union. The affected lecturers have also challenged their sack in court. Academic activities in Nigeria’s public universities are regularly disrupted by incessant teachers’ strike. The development has forced those who can afford it to send their children and wards to the private universities, whose numbers have been increasing in recent times.
