Aliyu to Fed Govt: honour agreement with ASUU

•Govt urged to implement pact

The Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF) and
Niger State Governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday urged the
Federal Government to honour the 2009 agreement reached with the
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the interest of the
students.
He frowned at the annual nine per cent national budgetary allocation
to the education sector as against the 26 per cent benchmark
approved by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Aliyu described the development as “unfortunate”.
Speaking after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
UNICEF, he said: “We should not enter into an agreement we know we
are incapable of fulfilling.”
Aliyu said the agreement was binding on the Federal Government and
ASUU.
According to him, “no matter the agreement, once it is signed, we
must keep to it.”
He said it was sad that in the past, university students spent more time
than necessary in school due to persistent strikes by lecturers, adding
that this is not in the interest of the country.
The governor appealed to the lecturers to reconsider their stand by
going back into negotiation with the government in the interest of
their students and the nation.
The NSGF chair lamented that over the years, the country had not met
the 26 per cent budgetary allocation to the education sector, rather a
paltry nine per cent had been allocated to the sector.
Said he: “With all our oil money, it is sad that education gets less than
nine per cent of our national budget. It is very sad and unfortunate
that our university lecturers are on strike.”
Governor Aliyu said for the country to join the league of developed
nations, education must be given priority.
He described as unacceptable, a trend where 14 of 19 states in the
North have over 70 per cent of their children out of school.
He attributed the achievements in the Southwest to the vision of the
late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who introduced free education in the
defunct Western Region and allocated over 50 per cent of the region’s
resources to education.
The UNICEF’s Country Representative, Mrs. Jean Gough, said with the
resources available in the country, there is no justification for any
child to be out of school.
She promised that UNICEF would support Niger State to realise its
vision 3:2020, especially in the area of education.
Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Bamidele Aturu, has said
the only way to save higher education is for the Federal Government
to implement the agreement it reached with ASUU in 2009.
He said unless the agreement is respected, tertiary education is
doomed.
Aturu made the declaration in a statement he issued in Lagos
yesterday, titled: “Implementation of FGN-ASUU agreement-the only
way to save higher education in Nigeria”.
He noted: “We may have to return to the suggestion made by Prof.
Wole Soyinka many years ago that we should close down the
universities and declare a state of emergency.
“When he first made that suggestion, it looked unrealistic and alarmist.
Now, it is clear that we are pretending to have higher education.
“What takes place in our dilapidated universities is a little better than
kindergarten education, if we must be honest with ourselves.”
Aturu said it was unacceptable that the Federal Government should
attempt to bully ASUU to renege on the agreement.
He said the expenditure profile of the government and politicians does
not show that it cannot meet the financial requirements of the
agreement.