ASUU strike ill-timed, says Olanipekun

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Chief Wole Olanipekun has described the warning strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as ill-timed considering the economic recession in the country.

He urged the union to suspend the strike.

Olanipekun, who was the former pro-chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, spoke on Saturday during his yearly scholarship scheme for students at his home country in Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

He said: “I would not say this is the right time for ASUU to embark on strike again, but at the same time I want to plead with the union and the Federal Government to look into the matter urgently.

“We must not kill education in this country, it leads to revival, revolution, emancipation and also freedom. Without it there would be darkness because education brings light.”

The legal luminary, who expressed concerns over the negative impact of incessant strikes said, “education is dying in Nigeria. I want to plead with both ASUU and the government, please come together and urgently resolve your differences for the good of our children. And these children are the reason for our existence, the hub of our life, the anchor of our nation. A country without a future is no nation and what do we mean by future? It is the education for these young people.

“So, I want to plead with ASUU to resolve these issues with government. This is not the right time for strikes in the interest of our children.”

Olanipekun was commended by eminent Ekiti indigenes and associates, including the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Idowu Olayinka for his yearly scholarship scheme.

According to him: “I don’t have any political ambition for doing this. I never wished for such. For the past 10 years, people have been asking questions, why is he doing this? Some thought maybe I wanted to be the state governor. But I don’t have such ambition.”