Never allow elected leaders to destroy public universities – ASUU to Nigerians
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has enjoined Nigerians to stop elected leaders that are bent on destroying public universities and wasting the country’s wealth from doing so.
ASUU advised the Federal Government to immediately declare a state of emergency on the poor condition of public universities to rescue the sector from outright collapse and ensure a bright future of the country.
Professor Ayoola Akinwole, the Chairman of ASUU at the University of Ibadan, at a press conference, held at the Large Lecture Theatre, Faculty of Arts, lamented that the government has not shown that the interest of the people is important as theirs.
Professor Akinwole asked, “The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, has been asked to call ASUU to order, who else, apart from Nigerian people, does the union ask to call the government officials to order? They have made a mess of the long-standing tradition of the committee system.”
He lamented that they have turned the committee formation to finding jobs for political jobbers, who submit their reports that will not be implemented by the government that appointed them, regretting that it has become so bad that the country is put on auto-run without respect for those they even employed to work for them.
He said that it is never too late for the government to make it an urgent point of duty to solve the problem of university education and not to think that it will just pass away, stating that it will be getting worse if nothing is done as the problems do not get solved by propaganda, falsehood and deceit.
ASUU called on the government to face the reality and declare a state of emergency on the poor condition of public universities in Nigeria and give it what is due to it, advising it to stop this isolationism and embrace the holistic solution to the public university education.
He opined that there is the need to stop portraying students’ interests as different from those of their teachers and parents.
Prof. Ayoola Akinwole observed that it is obvious by veritable evidence that the current political leaders and administration in Nigeria are paying lip service to public education, nay, the welfare of the common people and workers.
He added that Nigerians must not fold their arms and keep mute while a few elected leaders, fueled by mundane inordinate ambitions squander the commonwealth on frivolities.
He said that if they do nothing and continue on this trajectory, there would be no end to the perpetual misery in public universities.
