The conflict between the University of Ilorin Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the National Headquarters of the union is expected to become a thing of the past, after a string of discussions between the two factions of the UNILORIN chapter of ASUU, led by Dr Usman Raheem and Dr Kayode Afolayan, and a delegation from the national headquarters of the union led by Dr. Ben Ugheoke.
A five-point resolution was signed by the three parties on July 3, 2019 to the effect of bringing an end to the two-decade long dispute triggered by the sacking of 49 lecturers of the institution, tagged ‘ASUU 49+’ by the management of the University in 2001 for allegedly joining a nationwide strike organised by ASUU.
Raheem, who chairs one of the factions of the union in UNILORIN, described the reconciliation as a welcomed development and commended the visitation panel for going about the process of reconciliation in a mature and methodical manner. He acknowledged the current managment of the university for being in support of the peace and progress of the institution, and commended the national leadership of the Union for doing everything possible to ensure that “an end must be brought to the crisis.”
He recalled that the panel had extensive interactions with members of ASUU to arrive at a compromise with the conclusion that none of the parties should do anything to undermine the peace process.
While he congratulated his colleagues on the development, Dr. Raheem said that the University of Ilorin stands to gain a lot from the new found peace. He explained that “We can now walk freely to any campus in Nigeria, interact with colleagues, collaborate with academics from other universities for research, examination and peer review purposes.”