The withdrawal of services by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) have crippled administrative activities at Bayero University, Kano (BUK).
The associations embarked on a seven-day warning strike on Monday, following the federal government’s refusal to pay their four months' withheld salaries.
Other grievances are the re-negotiation of a 2009 agreement – comprising a 25/35 percent salary increment and minimum wage arrears – and the N50 billion the government promised as earned allowances.
When Nigeria Info visited the university's old and new campuses on Wednesday, the exams and record office, bursary, and library were under lock and key.
The students’ hostel, restrooms, and the campus environment were unkempt. So, also, were those of the Yusuf Maitama Sule University (YUMSUK).
A level 300 student of the Physiotherapy Department in BUK, Ya’u Habib Umar Ya’u, said the warning strike has led to the scarcity of water in the institution.
“We no longer have water despite having electricity because the non-teaching staff are not around to pump the water for us,” he said.
Another BUK student, Temitope Tayo, said the boys’ hostel toilet had been unwashed since the start of the strike.
However, Kehinde Joseph of the Theatre and Performing Arts department is urging the government to, as a matter of urgency, “address the plight of the non-teaching staff.”
Giving an update on the warning strike, the chairman of the SSANU BUK chapter, Comrade Mustapha Aminu, said the union has agreed to go on with the strike due to the government's “nonchalant” attitude.
Comrade Aminu further warned union members against doing “skeletal services” in their respective departments and units.
His counterpart at YUMSUK, Comrade Muhammad Jaji, revealed that the union will hold a meeting with the government later on Wednesday to address their pending issues.
Further instruction would be taken based on the outcome of the meeting, he added.
