Are they so cocooned in their
own affairs and interest alone but merely
wear the garb of fighting for the course of
students?
How can they answer to God for the
students who have died in one ugly
circumstance or the other since the
commencement of this strike? What about
the young men and women whose future
dreams and aspirations now hang in the
balance since the strike became an anemia?
Can they present a reasonable case apart
from asking us to blame the government
and listing the government’s recklessness
with funds and the deluxe lifestyles of
politicians? Many people have often said
that, “if they want to become politicians,
they should quit their jobs and register
with political parties to test their
popularity in elections”. While I have never
fancied such statement in the past, I
cannot help but subscribe to it. Being in the
academia is a whole different thing from
being in the political class and as far as I
am concerned, I consider the academic a
more prestigious place to be than to be in
the political class. Isn’t there more
prosperity in the word than in the world?
But the materialistic nature of the men
and women who parade themselves as the
occupants of our ivory towers, have
thrown that philosophy to the birds and
are more than ever, eager to be as rich if
not even richer than the politicians. I am
not condoning the reckless lifestyle of
politicians and the way a good percentage
of our national budget has been
apportioned to the political class, it is
despicable everyone knows but if ASUU
wants to go on strike, they should make
that the subject of their strike some other
time and not prevaricating into the matter
whenever they are on strike, it amounts to
steering a middle course in dispute
resolution.
ASUU must understand that Nigerians are
already sick and tired of their protracted
strike as even the National Association of
Nigerian Students (NANS) under its
leadership comrade Isaac Gbadebo has come
out openly to condemn their obstinacy in
the whole trouble-shooting steps. Even
though many have labeled him as an ant-unionist, I do not think in the name of
unionism, the truth should be crucified all
in the name of Aluta. Nothing has been
achieved in an atmosphere of obstinacy,
dialogue and continuous dialogue has
always been the hallmark of civility.
In the last three months, there is no
organization that hasn’t come out openly
to plead with the striking lecturers to
accept what has been offered by the
government, devise other means of
funding, while negotiation continues, but
all have fallen on deaf ears. Yesterday it
was our mothers, the other day it was the
Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji sa’ad Abubakar
111, the clergy have taken their turn,
various elder statesmen have done too, the
Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Arewa Consultative
Forum, the Conference of Nigerian Political
parties, the council of traditional rulers
and even the opposition APC, have all at
one time or the other, pleaded with the
striking lecturers to shift some ground and
call off this protracted strike but it seems
the union is bent on holding the nation to
ransom and have allowed their ego to get
the best of them as though in a war of
attrition with the Federal government.
These voices are respected ones in the
affairs of this country and ordinarily
should have moved ASUU into allowing logic
to take the place of emotion in their
faculties, but that is not the case. This no
doubt, made the president to reach the
hypothetical conclusion that the strike has
become a political issue, I cannot agree
less.
Finally, ASUU should know that there is not
and there will not be a better time to call-off this strike than now when the ovation
is still loud than to do so subsequently in
shame. Every voice that once blamed the
government has now taken a volt face, and
instead has blamed the lingering strike on
ASUU, that should ring a bell to them.
They should understand that the support
they have received so far from the masses
has been monstrous and must as well, pay
back to them by heeding the voices of
Nigerians and accepting the 130 billion
naira tendered by the government and
call-off the strike so that the youth
population roaming the streets like
itinerants could go back to the classes and
find a way of salvaging their future and
the future of our country at large.
The object of any strike action should
consist of two major goals. One for the
betterment of the system and the other
and most importantly, should be for a
progressive Nigeria and not otherwise.
ASUU “biko” ‘ronu’.
The writer is on twitter as @yung_silky
raymondnkannebe@gmail.com
hopefully tomorrow meeting in ondo will go well,fingers crossed.
