BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
The leadership of Great Ife Students’ Union of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife on Monday warned the Federal Government to desist from concentrating on the 2023 General Elections at the detriment of their academic pursuits.
While reacting to the three-month extension of the ongoing strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, the union in a statement signed by Olayiwola Folahan Festus, President, Odewale Samuel Damilare, Secretary General, and Ogunperi Taofeek Olalekan, Public Relations Officer, the students said they were tired of staying at home.
They asked the government to accede to the demands of their striking lecturers and desist from pushing them to the wall adding that they were already losing their patience.
“We, for the umpteenth time, condemn unequivocally the failure of the Federal Government and its agencies in resolving the concerns of ASUU such that the hitherto announced warning strike, which took over two months of academic activities away from us Nigerian students, is on the verge
of rebounding as a total and indefinite strike.
“Being day 85 of the strike, with barely any progressive effort made to end the strike, we, as a Union, and as youths on whose shoulders the economic and social drives of this country rest, make bold to assert that the failure of Government to end ASUU strike and accede to the demands of ASUU is tantamount to a call for our more organized confrontational approach.
“It appears the government is only concerned about the 2023 election. We note with
disappointment the pursuit of presidential ambitions of Minister of Labour and Employment and Minister of State for Education while Nigerian students bear the brunt of ASUU strike.
“We are, therefore, by this statement, sensitizing the public and especially Nigerian students that, should the Government fail to earnestly resolve issues with ASUU, with the supports of Great Ife students and of other Nigerian students who have had enough of the nemesis that this strike is, we shall be scaling up our efforts in such manner as may make our demand for the reopening of our school met.
“Ultimately, our concern is not only that the government ensures that our academic activities continue but also that the recurring issues such as revitalization of Universities, upscaling the salaries of academics, payment of accrued allowances. The experiences of the past few years and, indeed, since the turn of the century have been the same. Beyond the resumption of schools, we are religiously interested in seeing the government redeem its pledges to ASUU.
“In the same vein, we extend our solidarity with ASUP and other Unions whose demands are
targeted at better work conditions and a revamped education sector. It is extremely unfortunate that leaders of the country have over the years toyed with the education sector which is supposed to incubate human material resources for the development of the country.
It is pathetic that in the past 15 years, the highest percentage of the annual budget for education is 10.78% budgeted in 2015. Compared to some other countries, even in Africa, Nigeria has done badly to the sector. It goes without saying that education must be more funded. The government
must sit up and do this.
“Should the government see to it that the current strike is ended, it would be showing a
commitment to a better education sector. If it goes on, as we want, to genuinely attend to the demands of ASUU, it would be showing the expected disposition towards a more qualitative education for Nigerians.
On a final note, the government must bear in mind that we as students have exhausted our
patience and are tired of the prolonged strike. The meeting that the Minister of Labour informed the media about the strike has to be productive. We are watching and any more form of foot-dragging will be met with our confrontational measures,” they said.
