Starrys Obazei
There seems to be a gang-up against university education in Nigeria.
In Northern Nigeria, millions of illiterate, unskilled people live on the streets as beggars. They are called Almajiri.
Former President Goodkuck Jonathan built many schools for them as he tried to change their fortune, yet they remained unwilling to go to school.
Today, they are ready tools for terrorism, kidnapping, and many unthinkable acts against humanity.
This kind of people can cause extreme terrorism.
Then think about what would happen if education is partially destroyed by incessant Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strikes which can make students to be churned out half-baked, unprepared and despondent to face this inclement world?
May future generations of Nigerian never become Almajiri!
Almajiri indeed make up the lowest rung of Muslim society in Nigeria.
But efforts of many children, who are struggling to live far above Almajiri poverty level are being thwarted by our own leaders, Nigerians themselves!
The easiest road to prosperity in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s was education. But 39 years after independence, a new set of Nigerians, in 1999, democratically ascended the ‘throne’ and ignorantly or defiantly began competing to make Guinness Book of World Records trying to strangulate university education.
They are trying to blight the glory of university education by allowing ASUU strikes to linger for months.
The longest so far in these shameful acts against future generations is NINE months in 2020.
Also, since 2017, ASUU went on strike for one month, three months in 2020, one month in 2022. Again, in 2022, it has been more than three months today, July 5, 2022. So far in this dispensation, it is now one year, and more than three months of ASUU strikes.
This government can still win this competition, but Obasanjo may remain unbeatable. OBJ, as he is fondly called, gave striking university lecturers one year, seven months and two weeks absence from lecture halls.
Even today Obasanjo and his Vice, Atiku had proved how much they ‘love’ education by owning their own private universities
Even a doctorate degree holder President Jonathan and his predecessor master, Yar’Adua scored 17 months – one year and five months in ‘sponsoring. ASUU strikes.
You can see that it has been a tough competition.
President Buhari can still make amends by allowing OBJ to remain No. 1. His professor Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo can still ‘fight’ for his constituency – the students and lecturers – and make the good news that ASUU may soon call off the strike a reality.
Origin of ASUU incessant strikes
According to a reliable historical account, these strikes are in response to the Nigerian Government’s refusal to uphold the agreement signed. It is a move by the union to force the government into a response. However, this has only yielded negative results.