…It doesn’t mean government is serious – ASUU

By Adesina Wahab

The directive by President Muhammadu Buhari that the Education Minister, Malam Adamu Adamu, should within two weeks resolve the issues that led to the ongoing strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has been described as a welcome relief by parents.

The National President, National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, said this while reacting to the directive on Tuesday.

“The directive is a kind of making parents to heave a sigh of relief. It is a welcome development and we hope that nothing is going to stall the amicable resolution of the issues this time around. Our children have stayed at home longer than necessary and are are tired of the whole scenario.

“We also hope that ASUU and other unions would agree to make some concessions so that our children would be back on campuses and resume their studies. Life is about give and take and you win some and lose some,” he said.

However, ASUU, which spoke through a member of the National Executive Committee, who is also the Lagos Zonal Chairman, Dr Adelaja Odukoya, said the directive should not be taken as an indication that the government is serious.

“It is not a measure of seriousness. It is not the first time that the Presidency would give such directive and nothing would be done. There was a time a committee was set up that comprised the Chief of Staff to the President, the Ministers of Education, Labour and Finance that interacted with us, but what came out of it, nothing.

“As for us making concessions, we have been doing that. We are all in this country and we all know what is happening. We signed a memorandum with the government in May 2021, we agreed on a number of issues, but they did nothing. Let the government come out with its mindset. As a union, we negotiation, we don’t take awards,” he said.