Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says the best measure to preserve the future of Nigeria is for the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government to fund education and sign a decent agreement with the union to stop the over two months old strike.
The university teachers regretted that the attitude of the president and his appointees to the strike since its union commenced the ongoing strike over two months showed that they do not have mind to liberate the poor children of the masses as well as give them quality education infrastructure through committed funding and signing a new decent welfare package for ASUU members.
Speaking through the chairman University of Ibadan chapter of the Union, Professor Ayo Akinwole, stated that funding education remains the best way to shape the minds of youths to constructive development of their society.
According to him,government ought to see that more children are getting out of school and are useful pawns to youths fighting back against the society that neglected them.
He added:“It seems more money is being pumped into security for war entrepreneurs to become millionaires and billionaires without addressing the causes of insurgency and terrorism.ASUU started the ongoing strike on February 14, 2022 to force government to implement outstanding 2009 agreements on revitalization funding, earned academic allowances, proliferation of universities and sign a re-negotiated agreement with the union.
“While Government has stopped payment of salaries to striking lecturers, Akinwole said weaponizing hunger will not make the Union suspend the strike but is more energized to fight to have a country and a future for the children of the poor from the traders of collective patrimony in government.
“If those in government are smart, they should have seen evidences that pumping trillions of naira into fighting insecurity without getting result is a result of not doing the right thing. If you fund education, the minds of the educated youths will be built to resist being used for criminality but since government has been irresponsive , funding war may have become another opportunity where some people are making millions.
“They don’t care about the increasing number of out of school children and they are not concerned about what facilities Nigerian children are exposed to. For ASUU, a smarter way of controlling growing insecurity and redirecting the minds of Nigerian youths to constructive and developmental activities is to build their human capacity and minds through purposeful funding of education by federal, state and local governments in Nigeria.”