As the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ strike action enters the eighth month, a Catholic Priest and rights activist, Reverend Father George Ehusani has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to step in, in order to bring the faceoff to an end.
Father George, as he is popularly known, was speaking at a mass to commemorate the nation’s 62nd Independence Anniversary over the weekend.
Ehusani, who doubles as the Executive Director of Lux Terra Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on leadership training and human capacity development, lamented the insensitivity of our leaders whose children “attend private universities or universities abroad” while children of the poor attend public universities which have been closed for 8 months and wondered how such leaders are able to sleep as though it is a normal situation.
“How can such leaders sleep?, he queried. “They are going to sleep and are able to sleep? That shows they are insensitive!”
“I call on leaders in the executive, legislature, to do something, as we mark independence, to bring this to an end.”
“A situation where university lecturers are living like paupers to the extent that students no longer respect their teachers because of the quality of life they are living is unacceptable. I agree with the ASUU people that it is unacceptable”, he said.
Continuing, the cleric said, “ASUU really have a case and the Ministry alone may not be able to handle it.
“We need the President to intervene. The President has sent the Minister of Education, he has sent the Minister of Labour; for 8 months they have not succeeded. Is it not time, that the President should step in?”
He then invited the congregants to join him to call on the President to step in.
“Help me tell President, step in” to which they chorused loudly “President step in!”
Most Nigerians are of the opinion that the Federal government has shown so much lack of seriousness and sincerity in its response to the demands of the lecturers which has been characterized by prevarication, manipulations, threats and series of unfulfilled promises.
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