Just recently, President Muhammadu Buhari helped to prevail on 22 aggrieved senators of the All Progressives’ Congress to remain within the governing APC party. He intervened with determined efforts and intense speed to save his party from an imminent major loss.
The intervention must be in realisation that the mass exodus may affect the chances of his party in the 2023 general elections. That was why he personally met with the displeased senators and begged them to drop the plan and exercise restraint.
This is a clear signal to us that we are living in a nation where anything is possible to win elections, but we ignore education. One may ask, if Buhari could do this for his ruling party, one wonders, why can’t he replicate the same for the Academic Staff Union of Universities?
I am, therefore, pleading with the president to pay attention to this issue to ensure its final resolution.
Considering the long time they’ve spent at home, students’ patience is wearing thin.
I strongly believe that President Buhari’s intervention will also immediately end ASUU strike and bring back our students to the classrooms.
But it is sad to note that it seems we have now come to accept that the public university students should continue to stay in their respective homes forever since no one has raised a concern of their plight.
ASUU has raised a number of its grievances with the government, yet not much attention is being paid to resolve the issue.
If this government is seriously committed to resolving the crisis, as they make us believe, they should subject ASUU’s demands to a definite conclusion.
I would advise that government should in particular address ASUU’s complaint against Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). They can consider the suggestion of replacing it with a much more suitable payroll system.
Abbas Datti, Kano [email protected]
