Clement Idoko – Abuja
Just as Nigerians are prepared to cast their votes on Saturday, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that it is seriously worried that little or nothing has been done by the Federal Government to ameliorate the excruciating conditions of Nigerians under which the 2023 elections will be conducted.
President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, in a statement on Friday, on the position of the Union on the 2023 elections, however, called on Nigerians not to spare any efforts through their votes to salvage the ‘sinking fortunes’ of the nation for generations yet unborn.
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Osodeke also demanded that the elections must be free, fair, credible and non-violent, saying the electoral process is a legitimate pre-requisite in the country’s search for pro-people governance and a mechanism for galvanising the collaborative efforts of Nigerians for transforming what the ruling class has termed ‘our nascent democracy’.
While stating that the currency redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was ill-conceived, ASUU President noted that for the majority of hapless and helpless Nigerians, the business of existence has become nightmarish with the implementation of the policy.
He said “On a daily basis, ordinary citizens are confronted with a gruesome sense of abandonment by federal, state and local authorities whose primary responsibilities are security and welfare of the citizens.
“Poverty, hunger, diseases and sundry existential challenges have become daily companions of the citizenry. Meanwhile, political elites carry on as if they have lost every idea about organising and running a decent society for the benefit of all.
“The country, no doubt, is in dire need of focused leadership that will restore order and inject life into a nation desperately gasping for breath.
“ASUU salutes Nigerians for their resilience and steadfastness in pushing for the entrenchment of democratic ethos. Democracy is certainly wider and deeper than the four-year election cycles.
“This makes participation in the upcoming elections a moral duty for us as Nigerians. To change the narratives of ballot stuffing and snatching, thuggery, vote-buying and other electoral ills of the past, all hands must be on deck.
“ASUU posits that it is time Nigerians reorganised the political and socio-economic equations of the country for the benefit of the generality of its people,” he said.
Osodeke further stated that a stop must be put to a situation where the resources of the country are concentrated in the hands of a few manipulative political elites.
He called on Nigerians to carefully weigh the profiles and antecedents of those that have been thrown up by various political parties before casting their votes.
He added that education, particularly university education, is the catalyst to Nigeria’s developmental challenges and Nigerians should be wary of politicians whose antecedents are antithetical to the provision of qualitative and affordable education in the country.
He explained that owing to some unpalatable reports available to the leadership of ASUU, the union resolved and stated after the 2015 general elections that it would no longer recommend its members to participate in the conduct of general elections as representatives of ASUU.
ASUU President, however, said the union understands that members as citizens have civil rights and can make individual decisions on playing roles in the electoral process apart from voting.
“ASUU members who so decide are, therefore, strongly advised to exercise utmost restraints to protect the collective image of the academia.
“Lastly, we call on political gladiators and all saddled with the responsibility of delivering on the 2023 elections to play the game according to the rules.
“Nigeria is our collective heritage. No efforts should be spared to salvage the sinking fortunes of the nation for generations yet unborn,” he stated.
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