There were smiles on the faces of beneficiaries at the University of Abuja when its Alumni Association (United States branch) doled out cash palliatives to 54 lecturers of the institution.
While advising the government to honour agreements reached in the past with trade unions in universities to avoid incessant strikes, the organisation called on Nigerian academia to explore alternative means of generating resources to augment the lean resources from public funding.
The cash gifts by the US branch of the association also known as ‘Love and Light’ came amidst the eight months salary backlog after the prolonged strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government had refused to pay lecturers in full over its ‘no work, no pay’ policy.
The lecturers downed tools in February 2022 but returned to work in October.
Among the 54 beneficiaries were four families who were abducted by bandits who invaded the UNIABUJA staff quarters last year.
While handing over the money to the lecturers on Tuesday at a ceremony graced by the Vice Chancellor of UNIABUJA, Prof. Abdulrasheed Na’allah, a member of the alumni association, Tracy Kanu-Ejim, said the gesture was meant to cushion the effect of the non-payment of the lecturers eight months’ salary backlog after the ASUU strike.
Kanu-Ejim appealed to all parties involved, especially the government to find more amicable ways in resolving disagreements without disrupting the educational stability and development of the country.
“They (lecturers) could engage in robust research of international value and partner with universities abroad to court interest and attract foreign direct investment to our citadels of learning and economy at large.
“Last May, when the Vice-chancellor visited us in New York, we had a fruitful meeting where we discussed at length how Love and Light as an alumni association could assist our alma mater. Right there, we prioritised several projects that would meet Information Technology, healthcare, and security needs of the university, and we plan to come up with the funding to implement one or two in the nearest future.
“Meanwhile, our group on its own initiated this gesture as a token to help cushion the effects of living without pay and as our special way of answering the VC’s clarion call.
“We are glad for the opportunity to do something directly before the year runs out, but we are planning for something bigger in 2023. In fact, Love and Light has decided to make it an annual event, which will include many more lecturers.
“The process that produced the current beneficiaries was a very transparent one. When we requested and got the list of about 600 names of lecturers, we conducted a zoom meeting where the spinning wheel was utilised to randomly select a winner on faculty by faculty basis. The winners were collated and certified and their names were promptly transmitted to the office of Alumni Relations,” she said.
She said barely two years of existence of the association, over $50,000 had been used to support its members.
One of the beneficiaries, Prof. Joseph Obansa in the Department of Economics, thanked the association for the support.
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