ASUU Strike: Jonathan Begs Lecturers President Goodluck Jonathan on Saturday pleaded passionately with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to have a rethink over their protracted strike and return to classrooms for the sake of the students who are the worst hit by the industrial action. He also cautioned the union not to abuse the freedom of association and the right of workers to go on strike or even use it to the detriment of the nation, just as he noted that whatever the grievances of ASUU, keeping students out of school for four months was quite unpatriotic. The president made the appeal when he commissioned the College of Engineering Complex in the Afe Babalola University, Ado- Ekiti (ABUAD), Ekiti State, a three-storey College complex which has been named after him. He said, I once again appeal to the entire membership of ASUU to pause and ponder on the adverse effect of their action on the future of the vibrant youths of this great nation. The collective destiny of tens of thousands of tomorrows leaders should not be held hostage to vagaries of labour disputes. As long as we are humans, as long as we are a developing society, this labour dispute must come up. I believe that labour has the right to go on strike, but in that strike, any action taken must be built on patriotic zeal. In as much as you can go on strike, you must be patriotic to our country. No matter how and what you feel about Mr president and the federal government, I plead with ASUU that for the sake of our students, they should resume classes. Jonathan observed that, while four months would have been enough for the striking members of ASUU to drive home their point on the grievances, keeping the students beyond four months which was equal to a whole semester raised suspicion of an ulterior motive on the part of the union. He said, If it is a genuine strike, keeping students out of classrooms for almost four months, by that they have demonstrated to everybody that they have a case. And if the strike is motivated by some other interests, they have also achieved that by keeping students out of schools for more than a semester. I always say that even in the developed societies, we hear about labour dispute and there is no society, even the most developed that have provided the facilities for every worker. Our security services, the Police, the Armed Forces, Navy, Air Force and para- military, intelligence services are also operating in an environment that is not the best. If all of us should go on long strike because our environment is not optimum, then, definitely we can never get the Nigeria of our dream. So, let me use this unique opportunity that I am interfacing with our future leaders, our students, to plead with ASUU members.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 07:07:48 +0000