Two hundred and sixteen Nigerians at home and
in the Diaspora have signed an online petition
asking the Federal Government and the Academic
Staff Union of Universities to end the industrial
dispute which has kept public universities shut for
four months. The petition launched on change.org, a go-to site
for web protests, is asking President Goodluck
Jonathan and the National President of ASUU, Dr.
Nassir Faggae, to reach an “amicable consensus.” In the petition entitled, “Mr. President and the
Academic Staff Union of Universities: Please End
the ASUU Strike now,” the petitioners said the
Presidency should stop playing politics with
education of the Nigerian youth. The petition read in part, “Since the ASUU strike
began, it has been over half a semester, a lot in
the life of students waiting at home, not knowing
when the strike will be over. The future of Nigeria
is at stake. Stop playing politics with education. “It is urgent we send a message that it is long
past time for the FG and ASUU to reach consensus
and get students back to school by ending this
strike.” A majority of non-students who appended their
signature to the petition noted that they joined
the online protest with a view to crying out to
ASUU and the FG to consider poor students whose
parents cannot afford the luxury of sending them
overseas to study like the sons and daughters of political office holders. Former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar, joined
other students and concerned Nigerians
clamouring for a speedy end to the crisis rocking
the higher education sector. Atiku, who featured the link to the petition
signing website on his Twitter handle, wrote, “We
should never play politics with education. Our
future depends on it. It is time for the FG and
ASUU to reach a consensus and get students back
to school by ending this strike.” An Abuja-based post-graduate student in one of
the public universities in the country, Mubarak
Jubrin, expressing his dissatisfaction, wrote: “I am
stuck with a semester to finish my Master’s
programme. The FG should be doing everything
possible to rescue the one institution left that is working towards producing better human beings
who will shape the future of our dear country.” Noting that prolonged shutting down of public
universities is a dangerous omen for the society
and development of the nation, a Kaduna-based
student, Tarik Abubakar, also said Nigerians
students were being denied their rights to
education. “Students in other countries are enjoying their
rights to education. I am pleading with the FG and
ASUU to settle their issue and call off the strike,”
Abubakar stated. A Nigerian student studying at the University of
Cape Town, South Africa, Godspower Onwudiwe,
lamented that the industrial action paints a bad
picture of Nigeria on the international scene. Onwudiwe stated, I feel so sorry for my beloved
country because these incessant strikes are a
barrier to her general development. Also, as a
student in the Diaspora, it paints a very pitiful and
shameful picture on our international identity. “I cannot wait to not only see this strike end but
also the end of future strikes to the detriment of
the future of this generation and our country at
large.” Jemima Gana, who was moved to sign the
petition because she believes that the status quo
needs to change as the prosperous future of
Nigeria depends on quality education, which is
being threatened by the strike. Gana, who according to the information she
provided on the site, is based in Lagos, said
Nigerian students need a stable learning
environment devoid of strikes for them to be able
to compete globally. “It is so important to me because it is high time
the FG took the value of education seriously and in
high regard. Students in Nigeria need a stable
environment to acquire knowledge and graduate
on time in order to contribute their skills to the
growth and development of this great nation,” she wrote.
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