The Students’ Union of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile -Ife, has, on Tuesday, asked the Federal Government to honour the agreement it had with the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
In a statement jointly signed by the President, Olayiwola Folahan Festus; the Public Relations Officer, Ogunperi Taofeek; and the Secretary General, Odewale Samuel, the union said it was intolerant of the failure of the government to address the demands of the striking lecturers.
The union stressed that the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the ASUU strike had already dealt a great blow on education in the country and that the extension of the ASUU strike signified no hope for academic activities to resume.
The statement read in part, “Union members may recall that in 2020, coupled with COVID-19 pandemic, ASUU strike dealt a big blow to our education. It all started like this.
“With this extension, there is barely any hope in sight for academic activities to hold until June 2022 when it is even unsure if the strike will have ended. As a responsible Union, we cannot keep quiet while members of our Union and Nigerian students suffer again.
“On this note, we want to inform Union members, past and present comrades of our Union and the general public, that our position over the ASUU-FG imbroglio is that the Federal Government should honour the agreements it has had with ASUU. We take this position unapologetically, as this issue highly constitutes an impediment to the academic success of members of our Union and, by implication, their growth as humans.
“We are, by this release, sensitizing members of our Union and the general public, as Intellectual Fighters for Emancipation (IFE), that we are intolerant of the continued failure of the Federal Government in addressing the demands of ASUU so that the strike may be called off and classes resumed. As a Union, we consider this as a disaster to the lives of our members and it must be addressed by the Federal Government as a matter of urgency.”
The union also said the Federal Government was not respecting the universally recognized right to education and equally solicited support of students across tertiary institutions in the country to win the fight for better education.
“We remind the Federal Government, for it appears that it forgets what matters, that education is a universally recognized right and its attitudes only show that it does not respect this right. As a Union, we cannot be silent about this. As Dr Martin Luther King said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. Our education matters.
“Going forward, we solicit for the unflinching supports of Union members and students across all other tertiary institutions that we may collectively win this fight. We must remind ourselves that there is victory for us in this struggle; that if we fight, we will win. United we go back to classes, divided we are deprived of our rights to education,” the union said further.
The OAU Students’ Union is one among other student bodies that had supported ASUU over the ongoing strike.
The PUNCH had reported that the National Association of Nigerian Students, South-West zone and the Students’ Union of the University of Ibadan had condemned the failure of the government to meet the demands of the striking lecturers.
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
