ASUU had embarked on a four-week warning strike on February 14th to press home its demands, with the prominent ones being the renegotiation of the ASUU/FG 2009 agreement and the sustainability of the university autonomy by deploying UTAS to replace the government’s “imposed” (IPPIS).
The National Association of University Students (NANS), Osun State chapter has lambasted President Muhammadu Buhari over the persistent strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
ASUU had embarked on a four-week warning strike on February 14th to press home its demands, with the prominent ones being the renegotiation of the ASUU/FG 2009 agreement and the sustainability of the university autonomy by deploying UTAS to replace the government’s “imposed” (IPPIS).
Other demands include the release of the reports of visitation panels to federal universities, distortions in salary payment challenges, funding for revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowance, poor funding of state universities and promotion arrears.
On March 14, the association extended the strike action by another two months to afford the government more time to address all of its demands.
Osun NANS Chairman, Eruobami Ayobami in a statement on Tuesday threatened ‘drastic action’ if the Muhammadu Buhari failed to meet up with the demands of the lecturers.
Ayobami described the President as ‘enemy of Nigerian students’, adding that the government derives joy in poor and substandard educational system.
The statement read, “It is a generic conceived orientation that the best investment any visionary country could focus on, is its educational system, anywhere in the world, remains the bedrock and sole condiment of rapid national growth and development.
“Unfortunately, as students with patriotic mindset and optimism directed towards the great expectations our course should be receiving from the country where our natural responsibility by birth is to project everything we become into its betterment, it is sad to arrive at the reality that our interest rests with the least of attention from the leaders we have entrusted with it.
“For years and still counting, it has become glaring that the issue of the feud generated through the seemingly unending clash of interests between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, that has desisted to fade away in any bit has undoubtedly become an insurmountable hinderance for the academic proceedings of all affected Nigerian students, who happens to be the majority.
“Any ASUU strike that surfaces over time, the current one inclusive, is always surrounded with several stories and claims from the end of ASUU and corresponding counterclaims from the Federal Government. Regardless, all are still pointers to the fact that our leaders seem to be picking fun in all these disruptions caused to our lives.
“Despite the relentless wailings and yelling from the students whose lives are being toyed with and our parents whose only retirement plan are us, their children, such issues like this that have us as the bearers of the brunt are noticed to be consistently addressed with the least of readiness and promptness from our leaders.
“This has been pushing us and to which adaptation has been our incapacitated response, but now, we are at the wall and we may have no choice but to respond with severe agitations. In the course of this, the leadership of this association is hereby using the responsible medium to call on all necessary offices, emphasis on the Federal Government, to see this as an urgent port of call as it should be and make all necessary provisions and adjustments that will not only fix this current ASUU strike, but also for continuous sustainability of our academic system afterwards with immediate effect.
“It’s evident that the Federal Government derives joy in poor and substandard educational system.”
The students’ union further threatened to take action, stressing that they had been pushed to the wall, and left with no other choice.