The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Bauchi Zone, yesterday said that the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, has taken deliberate steps to undermined the future of Nigerians youths following his insincerity and misleading facts in resolving the ongoing ASUU strike.
The Zonal Coordinator, Prof Lawn G. Abubakar, who stated this during a press briefing at ASUU Secretariat, UNIJOS, said the zone would no longer condone the altitude of the Minister in misleading Nigerians against ASUU.
“For Adamu Adamu to lead his colleagues, the other ministers to misrepresent facts and mislead the good people of Nigeria against ASUU is rather unfortunate. It is the highest level of unpatriotic disservice a minister would do to his nation, particularly a sector like education, which is the backbone of the development of any country.
“If this is the way to end the ASUU strike, ASUU Bauchi Zone is taking exception to it and assuring Adamu Adamu that he is wrong; he has rather succeeded in undermining the future of Nigerian youths and Nigeria. If it would take him six months to only come up with this deceit as a solution to the strike, we have the right to ask whether he really was serious with education or stage-managing it?” he asked.
He dismissed the perception given by Adamu that the struggle by ASUU is all aimed at only improving the welfare of its members, saying that their desire was to improve the university system to meet up with global standard.
Prof Abubakar explained that the government has not taken any drastic measure that will warrant any consultations that may culminate in suspension of the current strike by ASUU members next week.
“ASUU, Bauchi Zone takes exception to this neglect and insists that public universities in Nigeria must be globally competitive with government providing the needed funds after stopping the wastages through programmes that are merely conduits for corruptly defrauding the government of its meagre resources such as incessant overseas travels.
“The Zone also rejects the insulting and ridiculous award to ASUU members nationwide in that take-it-or-leave it manner and insists that Federal Government must sit with union and agree through the International Labour Organization recognized collective bargaining principle.
“We also take exception to Adamu Adamu’s charades at the State House Press Centre aimed at insulting, ridiculing, embarrassing and humiliating the best brains in the country. No government has attempted to humiliate ASUU as this one, not even a military regime.”
He insisted that ASUU members, Bauchi Zone, have resolved to be more determined in ASUU struggle for the betterment of Nigerian public university system.
“ASUU, Bauchi Zone, calls on students, parents, Civil Society Organizations and the public to continue to understand and join hands with ASUU in this struggle aimed as saving the Nigerian public university system by insisting that government has the resources and should commit such resources to adequately fund public university education.”
Prof Abubakar said that they are not unmindful of the hardship and pains the strike has inflicted on the stakeholders, including its members and urged all to take that as sacrifice aimed at salvaging the system from total collapse.