Members of the National Association of Parents Teachers Association, South West chapter, have threatened to embark on hunger strike if the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) failed to reconcile their differences soonest.
Chairman of the association, Julius Olaribigbe, after inauguration of new executives of the Osun State chapter of the body in Osogbo, told newsmen that the current face-off between the Federal Government and ASUU was embarrassing to the nation.
Lecturers in public universities have begun an indefinite strike since July 1 over non-implementation of an agreement they reached with the Federal Government in 2009.
The universities have remained shut to academic programmes since then.
And while the industrial dispute lingers, the Federal Government gave members of ASUU up till Monday next week to resume for work or consider themselves sacked, an ultimatum the ASUU described as laughable.
But the PTA in the south West warned that “the over two million parents across the 36 states of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will embark on a national hunger strike if this situation should continue”.
Olaribigbe believes that the Federal Government needs to accede to ASUU demands in the interest of the students who are the country’s future leaders.
He appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to constitute a committee to dialogue with ASUU to end the ongoing face-off between the two parties.
“When two elephants fight, the grass will definitely suffer. This time around, it is the parents that are suffering. We are left with no other option than to appeal to the two parties to see reasons why the strike should end. But if the strike persists, we shall embark on hunger strike,” he added.
Olaribigbe blamed the Federal Government for allowing the strike to reach the present level, stressing that government has a duty to ensure qualitative university education for all Nigerian children.
Also on Thursday, Presiding Bishop of Victory International Church, Taiwo Adelakun, called on government to back down from its high horse and embrace diplomacy rather than the military approach towards resolving the crisis.
Adelakun spoke at the press briefing at Rehoboth Cathedral of the Church at Oluyole Estate, Ibadan, to formally unveil the 2013 Rehoboth Festival holding next week under the theme, ‘The Lord of Host’.
The clergyman, who announced that the proposed Dominion University to be owned by the Church would take off as soon it receives the final nod from the National Universities Commission (NUC), lamented that the continued closure of the nation’s universities due to the ASUU strike had compounded the problem in the sector.
According to him, “there is a problem in the sector already and the non-resolution of the crisis is compounding the problem and this calls for the necessity for the two parties to come to terms on the need to resolve the matter in the interest of the country”.
Chairman of ASUU, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) chapter, Olufunmilayo Ande, also spoke on Thursday, appealing to President Goodluck Jonathan not to allow some of those working with him to mislead him to drag Nigeria back to the dark days of “Abacha regime.”
The don gave the advice while addressing members of the IAR&T ASUU after a procession organised to honour former National President of the union, late Professor Festus Iyayi, who died recently in a motor accident along Lokoja-Abuja road.
Ande, the union’s Deputy Chairman, Adesina Tiamiyu, and Secretary, J. Olaide Saka, had led scores of the union members in the procession, after which they were addressed by the Chairman and the institute’s Executive-Director, James Alabi Adediran, who described Iyayi’s death as a great loss to Nigeria.
The ASUU chairman argued that the struggle embarked upon by the union is a struggle to liberate the country’s public universities and the entire education sector, urging Jonathan to immediately honour government’s agreement with the union.
Ande said since Nigeria currently claims to be running a democracy, the President should not adopt threat to force the striking ASUU members to go back to the classroom without the guarantee that the agreement reached with them will be honoured.
Academic staff at the Edo State owned Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, on their part also on Thursday vowed to continue with the strike until government agreed to fulfil all the things that ASSU is asking for.
The lecturers also called for the immediate sack of Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, over what they described as incompetence.
They said Wike lacked the intellectual capabilities and competence to handle the education system in the country.
They made their position known in a communiqué after an emergency meeting on Thursday.
The communiqué signed by Chairman and the Secretary of ASUU-AAU chapter, Fred Esumeh and S. Omoikhoje, respectively, described the ultimatum by the Federal Government as unfortunate and ill conceived in a democratic rule.
Read more at Independent
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