Why ASUU should not call off its strike September 13, 2013 at 1:55 am Written by Our Reporter SIR: I recently listened to a call-in program on radio in which the topic of discussion was the strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU. The forum soon turned into a platform for apportioning blame. But while few persons looked in the direction of government, majority went after ASUU. Some appealed to the lecturers to consider the interest of the students and call off the strike. Some others admonished them to be reasonable and accept what the government has offered and return to work immediately. Still some others lambasted them for being self-centered and unpatriotic. The issue at hand is not really complex as some people are wont to make it appear. ASUU declared the strike action after the federal government failed to implement the 2009 agreement the two parties signed. Among other things, the agreement sought to put a stop to the embarrassing collapse of our education system. Now who is to blame here? After negotiation, government had offered to release N30 billion- a shift from its initial posture that there was no money. Meeting ASUU’s demand, it said, can shut down the country. Interesting! Experience has shown that there is enough resource to meet the unquantifiable greed of those in power but not for the basic needs of the country. The body language of government since the start of the strike action could largely be described as lukewarm. It has never really shown real seriousness or urgency to resolve the issue. Well, can one blame the officials; who among them is his/her children affected? It is the children of unfortunate Nigerians who bear the consequences of their irresponsibility. There’s no money to develop our education sector but there is for government officials to send their children to schools abroad. There’s money to buy and service the many jets in the presidential fleet (of a country that does not manufacture a single aircraft part), there’s money to service the outrageous pay and allowances of officials, there’s enough money to sacrifice to subsidy thieves, there’s enough money to burn at the altar of corruption. Who is fooling who? The gullibility and docility of Nigerians are their undoing. Where really is the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS? What then is the essence of its existence? How many of those berating ASUU have demanded transparency from government? How many bother about the incredible cost of governance, how many bated an eyelid when the Economist magazine released a report that placed our legislators as the highest paid in the world? How many question why we should have battalion of ministers? People should leave ASUU alone. If we cannot demand justice and good governance then we should endure (and even learn to enjoy) the suffering we deserve. ASUU should not call off the strike until the agreement is fully honoured; government should curb its own waste. • Nnoli Chidiebere Aba, Abia State. ShareTweet+ 1
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 06:18:53 +0000
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