The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that the ongoing strike embarked on by the union is not for personal reasons, but for the survival of public universities in the country.
Stating this was the coordinator of the Lagos Zone of ASUU, Professor Olusiji Sowande, at a press conference, held on Monday, after the meeting of members of the union at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) campus, Ago-Iwoye.
He stated that the reason for the strike mainly bothered on the survival of public universities in the country and sustenance of university autonomy.
Sowande said the ongoing strike is about the only obvious way to rescue and preserve the soul of public university education from the stranglehold of Nigeria’s kleptocrats.
“To this end, the government will need more than the worn-out tactics of “keep them talking” and time-wasting to distract, blackmail, or wear us out from our resolve to getting funds for the revitalisation of public universities, renegotiation of 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, payment of illegally withheld salaries and Check-Off, payment of EAA, the constitution of visitation panels and stoppage of the proliferation of universities.”
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The ASUU zonal chairman urged well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on the federal government to meet the demands of the union, so as to end the seven months old strike.
Some of the union leaders in attendance include the Chairman, ASUU-OOU, Dr Joel Okewale, Chairman, ASUU- Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, Dr Adebayo Oni and Chairman, ASUU- University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr Dele Ashiru, among others.
He said “Government does not see Education of its citizens as a public good but rather, unfortunately, as a business.
“While the government is committed to using public funds to bail out banks, electricity distribution companies, and airline operators, which are their private investments, the excuse of unavailability of fund for the revitalisation of our public universities is not acceptable to our union.
“Parents and students should not be persuaded that ASUU is asking for too much money for the survival of public universities.
“Parents should please note that, if our struggle fails, they will pay through their nose to send their children to university, that is if many students will not drop out of school.
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