Again, Jonathan pleads with ASUU to call off strike

[Mirror]

President Goodluck Jonathan in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, yesterday renewed his appeal to members of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, currently on strike, to reconsider their stand in the interest of their teeming students who constitute the country's future.

Jonathan, who said that the prolonged strike could endanger the lives of the students who had stayed away from campuses for about four months, urged the lecturers to temper anger with patriotism.

The President spoke at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, ABUAD, where he commissioned the institution's College of Engineering His words: "I want to beg ASUU to reconsider its stand on the current impasse rocking our universities which has kept students out of the universities for four months. We have promised that all agreements will be honoured, so the university teachers should reconsider their stands.

"This hard stand and protracted crisis could endanger the collective destiny of millions of the future leaders because the future of the country should not be derailed on the altar of industrial dispute.

"We plead that the lecturers should temper anger with patriotism. It would have been a different thing if government has not been listening to their grievances or not ready to honour their agreements," the President said.

According to him, "if the strike is borne out of genuine intention, I want to believe that ASUU has been able to prove a point by keeping students out of school for four months. And if it is borne out of other reasons, they still need to believe that no sector of the economy is operating at its best.

"The military, police and other paramilitary organizations, including all the politicians, are not operating in the best environment and if we all go on strike, we will ground the nation. "But I promise that we will continue to strive to provide environment that would enhance optimum performances for better future of our nation," he assured.

The President described the ABUAD college 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."

He also assured that enabling environment would be provided for public universities, which he said were initiatives of some private well-meaning individuals. Earlier, the ABUAD founder, Chief Afe Babalola, who said that he had invested N60 billion to build the institution to a world class university, appealed to the Federal Government to always extend the hands of fellowship to the private universities to enhance quality education to all Nigerian citizens.

Babalola also harped on the need for the Federal Government to build an airport to fast-track development in the state. Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi, who corroborated Babalola on the need for the airport, appealed to the President to reimburse the N12 billion being owed the state over construction and rehabilitation of federal roads in the state, saying only N2billion had been paid out of the N14 billion expended on the federal roads so far.

The President, however, assured the governor and Babalola that the proposed local Airport for Ekiti would commence soon, just as he was keen in ensuring that all state capitals had an airport each.

The Minister of Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike, thanked the President for providing an enabling environment for education to thrive in the country, saying the country now had 50 private universities.

Wike said that President Jonathan had established 12 universities as part of the efforts to increase access to quality education in the country.

Source: Again, Jonathan pleads with ASUU to call off strike

[Shola Sholaz]

He needs to take a step as soon as possible cos ASUU doesn't look like they'll give into any plea at all.