(By Uchechukwu Udoji)
The Federal Government will meet the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, today on the ongoing strike embarked on by university lecturers over the non- implementation of the 2009 FG/ASUU agreement, which has been on for weeks.
The meeting comes following the denial of Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu of a newspaper report that the Federal Government agreement with ASUU could not work.
The minister said he never made such a statement and that he only appealed to the union to return to the classrooms while negotiations continued.
Last week’s meeting of the two sides with the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on Education had ended in deadlock as both sides seems to be ready to compromise their stands. The two groups were told by the lawmakers, to go back and review their positions, while they choose a later date to reconvene.
Fielding questions from journalists, yesterday, Minister of Education, Professor Ruqayyatu Rufa’I, said that the Federal Government had no other option than to meet with the union to resolve the crisis, so students can return to school.
Lamenting the state of Nigeria’s economy, President of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Dr. Nasir Fagge, said Nigeria’s economy had been taken over by Chinese, as leaders in Nigeria have refused to provide quality education to the people, while the Chinese government trained its people in all sectors with the necessary facilities.
“Even now, what is happening is that the Chinese have taken over our economy simply because they have trained their people, they have educated their people and their people can compete anywhere in the World that is why our President is going to China to go and sign MoU (Memorandum of Understanding).”
“Why can’t we do the same, why can’t we train our people and give them quality education so that we will also be exporting them to go and carry out assignments in other countries and then bring foreign exchange for our country and then we will not need to be importing people to come and do some sundry projects in our country?”
He however expressed optimism that the agreement the union entered into with the federal government would be implemented.
“This thing that they are saying agreement cannot be implemented, we have heard it before. Prof. Ben Nwabueze was always in the media when he was the Minister of Education saying that it was an agreement of imperfect obligation,” he said.
The outcome of today’s meeting will determine the fate of students who bear the brunt of strike actions like this.
