The Federal Government yesterday said
government ’s activities may be shut
down if the demands of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU) and
those of other sectors are fully met.
The Minister of Information , Labaran
Maku, said this in Abuja yesterday when
he addressed State House
correspondents after the Federal
Executive Council meeting presided over
by President Goodluck Jonathan.
He said the Federal Government has
been spending so much on the
development of tertiary education .
Maku urged ASUU to reconsider its
demands since there are many demands
from other sectors before the Federal
Government.
He said the huge sum spent to restore
peace following the Boko Haram
insurgency in the North would have
been used to finance education and
other sectors.
Said he : “This country belongs to all of
us . If we all insist that every sector ’s
problems must be completely solved , we
will down tools , we will not work , then
the country will stop working . If we say
every problem we face in this country ,
we will not work until it is resolved ,
then I ’m sure there is no sector that will
work .
“ It is our country , we are partners with
ASUU, we are friends, they are our
patriots and we understand the critical
roles the university teachers are playing
to create a new society we are hoping to
have . But at the same time, we have to
put the nation first.
“ I know all of us desire more from the
system , but the truth is that there are
limitations and from the limitations we
have , we believe ASUU really needs to
do a rethink and ensure that we reopen
our universities because we are feeling
the pains of our children being at
home. ”
Maku continued : “Government has
priorities ; education remains the
number one priority and will
continuously remain the number one
priority of a developing country like
Nigeria. There is no way we can avoid it .
The quality of human capital is going to
determine the future of our country .
But at the same time , when you look at
the environment today, we are dealing
with power supply , railway that has
broken down many years ago.
“ We ’re dealing with roads, creating an
enabling environment for the industries
to prosper. There is no area today that
you touch that you do not have an
urgency for the government to deal
with .
“ I just want to say that it is unfortunate
that our students are still at home . It is
very sad because the Federal
Government has done so much in the
last three years for education . People
can compare the statistics. When we
were on the Good Governance Tour and
we got to the University of Benin, we
saw 37 projects completed, including
the new Senate chambers built under
this administration. Most of the projects
were carried out through the Tertiary
Education Trust Fund .
“ There is no federal university today
that does not have multiple projects .
There is no federal university at the
moment , including polytechnics and
colleges of education , even state
polytechnics, we are funding them . ”
The Minister of Education , Prof .
Ruqayyatu Rufa’I , said the Federal
Government has done its best to finance
education , but ASUU has been giving
the public the impression that
government has not done anything on
the agreement signed in 2009 .
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