Don’t blame ASUU for another crisis in varsities, Ashiru, others warn

• NANS chides Emefiele for attributing fall of naira to Nigerian students studying abroad
• Urges CBN gov to stop blame-game, draw up sound policies

Chairman, University of Ibadan (UI) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Ayoola Akinwole; Chairman, University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter of the union, Dr. Dele Ashiru; a former National Treasurer of ASUU, Prof. Ademola Aremu, Femi Aborisade, parents and students, yesterday, protested the no-work-no-pay stance of the Federal Government.

The unionists, students and parents gathered at the Trenchard Hall with placards bearing various inscriptions such as “Teachers are nation builders,” “ASUU demands immediate payment of outstanding salaries,” and “Buhari must invest in education and stop looting” among others.

The UI ASUU Chairman said nobody should blame ASUU if another crisis erupts in the education sector.

Aborisade said reneging on the agreement is against the Constitution of the country, adding that collective bargaining is binding and when it is not implemented, workers have the right to go on strike.

Ashiru said that if not for the struggle of ASUU, public education would have become nothing today.

“The protest is to draw the attention of stakeholders to another brewing crisis in education,” Ashiru said.

MEANWHILE, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), yesterday, berated Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, for attributing the fall in the value of naira to the increase in the number of Nigerians studying abroad.

In a statement by the National Public Relations Officer of the student body, Giwa Yisa Temitope, the students admonished Emefiele to use the remaining period of his term to draw up sound monetary policies to correct his failure.

Temitope, who recalled that for the vast majority of 2022, Nigerian students were at home because of the strike embarked upon by ASUU), said: “This is not the first time we have experienced strike from different unions in our tertiary institutions. This is in addition to the decaying infrastructure and the frustrating academic system at play in the country.”

He said that by seeking to pursue their academics abroad, the Nigerian students were trying to escape the rot of the academic system, adding that the CBN governor cannot blame Nigerian students, rather, he should hold the government responsible.