The Nigeria court of appeal sitting in Abuja has ordered the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to resume classes and call off the strike immediately.
The court issues the order today Friday, and the appellate court said ASUU should obey the order of an industrial court which directed the suspension of the strike before seeking to appeal the judgment.
Details later.
By Musa Abdullahi Kaga
As an employee, salary is one of the most, if not the most, important factors in applying for or staying in a job. It is, however, a known phenomenon that salaries, no matter how handsome, hardly cater to one’s wants and needs. Hence, the regular quest for the insatiable: salary review.
Salary review is often misunderstood or confused with annual assessment or appraisal. Salary review is mostly deeper than annual or biannual appraisals. It is a comprehensive analysis/evaluation of whether a specific pay package is a fair reflection of what an employee should earn in line with factors such as external market forces, experience, career progression, company culture, job performance, etc.
Reviews are an essential HR and management strategy/tool for attracting and retaining good hands in a company.
Several factors may necessitate reviews, ranging from competitors’ pay trends, employee opportunities, or employers’ fear of losing employees for whom they invested so much.
It is only fair that as your employee’s career progresses, so do their emoluments. This should, of course, depend on milestones, achievements, performances, etc. Should there be a positive progression, the salary should grow accordingly. Unfortunately, this is not obtainable in our clime, especially in the public sector.
According to data from ALLSTARTSIT – a tech company specializing in software development services and talent acquisition in CEE regions – there has been a massive median salary increase of 106% for software developers in the CEE regions over the last decade. For example, a system architect that earned $3000 a month in 2012 makes about $6200 in 2022. That is massive, even for an IT specialist.
Graph showing ten years salary trend of software developers
In Nigeria, however, the last time the federal government conducted an upward review of workers’ salaries was in 2009 – 13 years ago – with an increase of about 53%. The dwindling economic situation in the country has rendered the purchasing power of workers feeble. Different civil, trade and labour unions have tabled several demands to the government over the years on the review of salaries and other welfare packages; unfortunately, this is yet to achieve any positive outcome.
Recently, the Nigerian Labor Congress, through its President, Comrade Ayuba Waba, lamented the sorry state of Nigerian civil servants and reiterated their demands to the government.
According to Waba, economic challenges had eroded the purchasing power of ordinary workers so much that the minimum wage could no longer take a worker home and could barely serve as transport fare.
Speaking to NAN earlier this year, he said; “We want to make a formal demand on behalf of the Joint Service Negotiation Council for the review of wages in the entire public sector because it is due,’’
Looking inwards, it recently dawned on me the economic hardships endured by civil servants and other citizens; this is due to the rising cost of essential items and, of course, the occasion of the Eid celebrations. A friend who is an employee of a non-governmental organization has a compensation significantly higher than what his colleagues in the public sector receive, yet, he had to dig deep into his savings to afford a ram. It is nearly a miracle that he has the luxury of savings; public sector employees could only admire his status, even though he is still among the ‘masses.’
It is, therefore, a no-brainer for civil servants to work towards achieving an alternative source of income, especially in this digital era.
Unsurprisingly, it is not uncommon to see civil servants perpetually discussing issues like salary reviews and ‘welfarism’ in Nigeria. Even though successive governments in the past have not done enough to ensure a proper salary structure and compensation system among civil servants in various tiers of government, this is primarily because of the insatiable nature of salary.
The craving for more is intrinsically part of human nature, although some experts argue that insatiable desire is unhealthy (greed). Nonetheless, the motivation to work harder and earn a decent salary is our typical trait.
Musa Abdullahi Kaga sent this article via musaakaga@gmail.com.
By Muhammadu Sabiu
Ahead of the 2022 World Cup, which begins on November 20, the tournament host, Qatar, has released a list of dos and don’ts, especially for fans from other countries.
The wealthy Gulf nation has disclosed that spectators coming should note the bans that have been in place on alcohol, the LGBT community, exposing parts of the female body, and swearing are still in effect.
The host added that disrespect for mosques, loud music and sounds, dating, and taking pictures of people without their consent, are also banned.
Apart from the moral rules, there are also regulations concerning COVID-19 and its vaccine.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy mandated that all visitors six years of age and older show proof of a negative PCR test result obtained within 48 hours of their departure or a positive rapid antigen test result obtained within 24 hours of arrival.
Rapid antigen test results from legitimate medical facilities that are not self-administered only will be accepted. If visitors do not exhibit COVID-19 symptoms, no additional testing will be necessary in Qatar.
Additionally, everybody above 18-year-old must download the Ehteraz contact tracing phone app, which the government manages.
By Uzair Adam Imam
President Muhammadu Buhari arrives at the National Assembly for the presentation of the N19.76TRN 2023 Appropriation Bill.
The budget presentation would be Buhari’s last presentation before he hands over power to his successor on May 29, 2022.
The event is currently taking place at the improvised House of Representatives chamber and opened with the national anthem.
The president reportedly arrived at the chamber around 10:05 am alongside his ministers and the meeting startedimmediatelyy.
Daily Trust reported that entry into the complex is limited as special accreditation arrangements were made for journalists, securitys and members of staff on duty for the presentation.
By Uzair Adam Imam
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Thursday vowed to sue the Federal Government for registering bodies to checkmate its activities.
Recently, the federal government has officially registered two new academic unions in Nigerian Universities as trade unions.
The bodies are the Congress of Nigerian Universities Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA.
The counsel to ASUU, Femi Falana, disclosed this on Thursday when he was featured on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
Falana said the registrations of the two unions as illegal, saying; “ASUU is going to court. It is going to be the National Industrial (NIC).”
By Uzair Adam Imam
The New Nigeria People Party (NNPP) has started a legal duel with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for refusing to allow the party to replace Senator Ibrahim Shekarau for Kano Central Senatorial District in the 2023 general elections.
NNPP wanted to replace Shekarau with the former senator, Rufa’i Sani Hanga, after his defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) some months ago.
Shekarau defected and joined PDP citing irreconciliable differences with the party’s presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, as his reasons.
On it’s part, INEC argued that Shekarau has not officially informed the electoral body about his defection to PDP reiterating that it can not replace his name with another person.
In an interview with journalists on Wednesday, the NNPP presidential candidate Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso said: “We have conducted (fresh) primary election where we elected Rufa’i Sani Hanga, as a replacement and if INEC can do justice to us, based on the constitution, the time for the replacement of candidates is not yet over.
“We have taken the matter to court because INEC did not understand the process. The court will make them understand it.”
Kwankwaso, who wondered why INEC refused to replace Shekarau’s name with their new candidate, asked “would INEC announce Shekarau as the legally elected representative for the district if NNPP wins the senatorial seat?”
By Uzair Adam Imam
Over two thousand people, including university lecturers and students, graduated from the Engausa Global Technology Hub.
The graduates were trained in various skills ranging from science and technology.
The founder and chairman of the technology hub, Engr. Mustapha Habu Ringim, disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Wednesday to mark this year’s United Nations World Teachers Day.
Engausa was founded in 2019 and registered in 2022 and recorded numerous successes in teaching people various scientific and technological skills to depend on themselves and become employers of labour.
Engineer Habu said English and other languages inhibit learning progress, especially in northern Nigeria.
He stated, “It doesn’t mean that we are not developed when we teach in our mother tongue. Knowledge can be taught using any language.
“Later, one can learn any other language he feels interested in, like English, Arabic or French.
“But it is not wrong to learn in your mother tongue, as many people perceive. For this reason, we, among others, admit even almajiri, who have no background in western education and are school dropouts, into Engausa Global Technology Hub and teach them in Hausa.
“Today, many such dropouts and almajiri have become teachers in Engausa. They even teach university graduates, MSc and PhD holders as well.”
We give emphasis on the practical aspect
Unlike in tertiary schools and other institutions of learning, the Engausa Global Technology Hub gives emphasis on practical aspects than theories.
This, however, enables the students to fully understand the subject matter rather than mastering theories and definitions of concepts.
Ringim added, “More than 90 per cent of what we do in Engausa is practical. The theoretical aspects do not exceed 10 per cent.”
Unemployment worsens insecurity in Nigeria
Ringim also argued that the rising insecurity in Nigeria is not unconnected with the high unemployment rate in the country.
Insecurity has been one of the ongoing challenges facing Nigeria, especially in the northern part, over the years.
He stated, “We need to know that teaching our youths some skills is one of the panaceas to the lingering security challenge in Nigeria. Therefore, society needs to welcome inventions of this sort.
Engausa is gaining global recognition and support from Federal Government and academics like Prof. Abdallah Uba Adamu, Prof. Hafizu Miko Yakasai, and Engr. Isa Musa Gumel, Prof. Idris Muhammad Bugaje, Dr Binta Usman, Dr Hauwa Muhammad Bagaje, among others.
By Ahmad Deedat Zakari
A yet-to-be-identified lady has beaten a child believed to be her maid’s to death in Anambra State.
In a video that went viral on social media on Thursday, the lady confessed to the murder of the deceased, whose identity has not yet been disclosed.
Information at our disposal reveals that the deceased was brutally assaulted and died before she could get medical attention.
“I beat her, and she started convulsing, so I took her to Kings (hospital). Getting there, she died, so I threw her body here.” The suspect said in Igbo
After her arrest by the Anambra Command of the National Agency for Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, she led security personnel to the bush, where she dumped the body of the deceased.
The body was reported to be decomposing at the time of writing this report.
By Muhammad Abubakar
The news of the severe flooding in Jigawa State is depressing and alarming. I initially thought the report had reached every nook and cranny of the country. But the reverse is, unfortunately, the case. I was amazed to realize that the news has not gone very far in the country. Worse still, it is said that the state governor himself is currently out of the state.
I recently checked a couple of our local media sites to know more about the ongoing flooding, only to find out that; most of the news updates there have nothing to do with this deplorable disaster currently ravaging the state. It’s heartbreaking how many on-and off-line news outlets pay only lukewarm attention to this issue, although it should be discussed more than any other.
Jigawa State has never experienced such an alluvial disaster in its history. Many houses and villages collapsed; properties submerged; roads, bridges and farmlands were washed away, and crops ruined. Some have become orphans all due to this flooding!
The situation has reached the extent that the people of the affected areas can no longer move into their towns or travel out of the villages because their roads are not motorable. Also, thousands of people in the affected communities have been displaced. Canoes capsized. Lives were lost. Almost anywhere in the state has been negatively affected.
The most affected areas include Gumel, Mallam Madori, Auyo, Kaugama and Kafin Hausa local government areas. The flood has not only stopped here, but it also touched almost every part of the state. But yet, no tangible action has been taken on that by the government.
The federal government should therefore join hands with the state government to do the needful; deliver food, clothes, drugs and other useful items to the victims. May God, the omnipotent and omnipresent, end all the hardships we are going through in this country and the world.
Muhammad Abubakar wrote from Jos, Plateau State, via muhammadabubakar01002@gmail.com.
By Uzair Adam Imam
The presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, consoles with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), saying their genuine requests had met with deaf ears in Nigeria.
Atiku Abubakar stated this in a statement he issued and signed on Wednesday in celebration of the United Nations’ World Teacher’s Day.
Abubakar’s impassioned statement decried about the incessant strike which has been eight months now since lecturers shut down public universities to press their demands home.
He stated, “I wish to observe this all-important day by identifying with Nigerian teachers. I wish to identify with them in their moment of grief occasioned by poor working conditions over the years.
“Specifically, I use this medium to console Nigerian university lecturers whose genuine requests have met with deaf ears, and who have now stayed for over seven months without salary.
“Teachers are the backbone of a nation. They are the bedrock on which national development rests. Indeed, many educators have opined that, no nation can rise higher than the quality of its education system, and no education system can rise higher than the quality of its teachers.
“This means that no nation can make any meaningful progress in any sector without having well-trained, experienced, happy and well-remunerated teachers. A situation where some states are owing teachers’ salaries of up to five months, or even more, is unacceptable,” he stated.
