The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Benin zone, has urged well-meaning Nigerians, workers and civil society organisations to prevail on the Federal Government to meet the demands of the striking lecturers with a view to saving the future of the country and its educational system.
The academic body accused the Federal Government of toying with the future of Nigerian students as there is no headway after nearly two months since the commencement of their strike that has crippled academic activities in public universities.
The union added that even after the students were sent packing from their respective institutions, the resolution of the deployment of the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and the signing and implementation of the draft renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement remained at the level of “mere proposals, fruitless talk, and empty assurances”.
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Briefing newsmen on Monday in Benin City, Fred Esumeh, zonal coordinator, Benin zone, called on Nigerians to wake up and join the academic body to “salvage what remains of the country by repositioning the universities to be globally competitive and able to produce the manpower resources required to jump-start the re-emergence as a global technological and economic power.
“It has become expedient once more for ASUU to address the press and provide relevant information to the general public on the unfortunate and unconscionable attitude of the Federal Government of Nigeria to the plight of Nigerian students, who have had to be sent out of school over the failure of the government to adequately manage the steady decline in the morale of teaching staff, quality of teaching and learning facilities in the country’s universities.
“Rather than treat the nationalistic call of the union with the urgency and seriousness that it deserves, the representatives of the government continue to toy with the future of our children, students and nation,” Esumeh said.
“It is clear from the foregoing that the Nigerian government is peopled by those whose intent is to prey on the resources of this once great country and loot it while the majority of Nigerians continue to suffer hunger, want and deprivation and their access to quality and affordable university education is being subtly but deliberately and steadily denied.
“They choose to meet the timelines and deadlines for politicking and political party activities in order to perpetuate their greed and avarice but remain inexplicably insensitive to the fact that Nigerian children and students are groaning under the burden of being shut out of school for over two months to this day”, he added.
