Don’t Blame Us For Bad Timing, Blame Your Silence – TSU Lecturers Tell Gov Kefas

By Godwin Agia, Jalingo

Lecturers of Taraba State University, Jalingo, have asked the Taraba State Government to take responsibility for its silence during the pre-strike negotiation window, rather than blaming the timing of their industrial action.

The response came after Governor Agbu Kefas visited the university on Thursday to intervene in the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), TSU chapter.

During the visit, Governor Kefas appealed to the lecturers to suspend the strike in the interest of students, who are currently writing examinations, said his administration remains committed to addressing their legitimate demands, including outstanding allowances.

The Governor explained that a committee has been set up to examine the demands and review the existing salary and allowance structure, to come up with a uniform and sustainable system obtainable in other institutions, also said government plans to reposition tertiary institutions through international partnerships in science and technology.

Responding through his social media handle, ASUU-TSU Chairman, Dr. Joshua Garba Mbave, said the issue is not about when the strike was declared, but why it became inevitable.

Mbave said describing the strike as unconstitutional because it coincided with examinations has no legal basis, and challenged the Governor to quote the specific provision of the Constitution that criminalizes strike action during examinations.

He argued that no profession is expected to wait for perfect conditions before exercising its right to industrial action, citing medical doctors, judicial workers and police officers as examples.

According to him, the union followed due process before embarking on the strike, which makes it illogical to focus only on its timing.

He then raised four logical questions to trace the government’s role in the build-up to the strike:

1. What did the government do when ASUU-TSU issued the first ultimatum before examinations even started?
2. What concrete steps were taken after the final ultimatum was issued?
3. What action was taken during the additional two weeks the government itself requested to address the issues?
4. If examinations were so important, why didn’t the government act when it knew they were approaching during the period of extension?

Mbave maintained that industrial disputes are a product of unresolved grievances and missed opportunities for dialogue, not an event that happens in a vacuum, adding that ignoring the causes while condemning the timing amounts to intellectual dishonesty.