From President Goodluck Jonathan
yesterday came a fresh appeal to the striking
members of the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) to end their four- month-
old action.
"The collective destiny of tens of thousands of
tomorrow's leaders should not be held hostage
to vagaries of labour disputes. As long as we
are humans, as long as we are a developing
society, this labour dispute must come up,"
Jonathan said at the maiden convocation of Afe
Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD) and the
inauguration of the university's College of
Engineering Complex.
The three-storey college complex was named
after the President.
He said whatever may be the grievances of the
lecturers, keeping students out of school for
four months is an overkill and urged them to
ponder on the adverse effect of their action on
the future of the youths.
According to the President: "I always say that
even in the developed societies ,we hear about
labour dispute and there is no society, even
the most developed, that has provided the
facilities for every worker.
"Our security services, the Police, the Armed
Forces, Navy, Air Force and para-military,
intelligence services are also operating in an
environment that is not the best.
"If all of us should go on long strike because
our environment is not at its optimum, then
definitely we can never get the Nigeria of our
dream."
Responding to comments by Governor Kayode
Fayemi and the founder of the University,
Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) on federal roads and
an airport in Ekiti State, the President
promised to facilitate a meeting between the
Aviation Minister and the Governor.
He also said efforts will be made to ensure the
release of a sum of N400 million, which has
been set aside in the 2013 budget.
Jonathan described ABUAD College of
Engineering as "a masterpiece and a challenge
to individuals, faith-based and non-
governmental organisations to join hands in
building Nigeria that would be a pride of all."
The governor had appealed to the President to
redeem the sum of N12 billion owed the state
by the Federal Government on the renovation
of federal roads in the State.
According to Fayemi, Ekiti has only been paid
N2 billion of the N14 billion spent on the
roads.
Aare Babalola said N60 billion has been
invested in the institution and appealed to the
Federal Government to support serious private
universities, especially in the area of research.
In another development, about 5000
undergraduates from different public
universities, on Friday, disrupted
economic activities at the Asaba end of the
River Niger Bridge during a protest over ASUU
strike.
It was their second protest since the strike
began.
A traffic grid lock stretching over 6 kilometers
on the ever-busy Benin-Onitsha expressway
ensued after angry students prevented them
from leaving Delta State.
Motorists had to make detours to avoid the
students who were chanting solidarity songs.
Tagged: "100 Days plus, ASUU's Unending
Strike", the protesters were led by the National
President of NANS, Comrade Yinka Gbadebo
and his counterpart in the National Association
of Polytechnics Students (NAPS), Comrade
Salahadau Lukman.
The unionists condemned their undue stay at
home, wondering why ASUU was always using
students to settle scores with the Federal
Government.
"Who will pay us for disruptions in our
academic calendar? Our parents are tired, we
too are also tired. Why are lecturers in state
universities on strike against the FG? Is FG
equally responsible for infrastructures in state
universities? What are the real demands of
ASUU," they chorused.
They denied that the protest was sponsored by
the Federal Government and queried why ASUU
was demanding for transfer of landed property
via the union's holdings.
Hailing the administration of President
Goodluck Jonathan for offering over N40
billion to ASUU for the first time in the history
of tertiary educations in Nigeria, the NANS
president wondered why ASUU took the law
into its hand and failed to seek redress in
court.
Gbadebo appealed to ASUU to receive the N40
billion dangled by the Federal Government and
call off the strike for the sake of posterity.
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