Get Guardian on GoogleThe Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has vowed to resist the Federal Government’s plan to establish a campus of a United Kingdom university in Nigeria.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, stated this on Thursday in Bauchi during a public lecture organised by the Sa’adu Zungur University (SAZU) branch of the union.
Piwuna alleged that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, during a recent state visit to the United Kingdom, signed an agreement to bring Coventry University to Nigeria.
He criticised the move, describing it as an attempt at “re-colonisation,” and questioned the rationale behind allowing a foreign university to operate in the country.
“This is an attempt to re-colonise us. Coventry University reportedly has a deficit of about £58 million and has recorded a 43 per cent drop in African student enrolment. They are cutting costs and staff, projecting about £100 million in reductions over the next two years,” he said.
“They are now coming to Nigeria to establish a university. They deny our people visas to study abroad, yet they want to come here and take our money. That is unacceptable.”
Piwuna declared that ASUU would oppose any aspect of the agreement relating to education, insisting that it contradicts the government’s existing moratorium on the establishment of new universities.
“That agreement will not stand. We are going to oppose it,” he said.
The ASUU president, however, commended the Vice-Chancellor of SAZU, Prof. Fatima Tahir, for implementing the new salary structure for university staff.
“If you continue like this, the day you leave office, we will carry you on our heads,” he remarked.
The lecture focused on academic responsibilities and entrepreneurship among university lecturers.
Speaking at the event, Prof. Suleiman Abdullahi Karwai of the Department of Business Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, urged lecturers to invest early in income-generating ventures.
“No lecturer should be poor. There are many legitimate businesses that do not interfere with our primary responsibilities. Buy shares, acquire land, write books, and engage in consultancy,” he advised.
Karwai added that lecturers in other regions are already taking advantage of such opportunities and encouraged their counterparts to do the same.
