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By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

A security expert, Adekunle Adebayo Ayoola has appealed to the federal government to be sincere with proper funding of the nation’s universities, in order to put an end to the incessant strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Ayoola, who made the appeal while speaking with Vanguard in Abeokuta, dispelled rumour in some quarters that the present strike by the ASUU was to push for salary increment.

According to the security expert, the present ASUU strike was about preserving public universities and ensure that they have what it takes to continue producing graduates that could add value to the socioeconomic and political development of the country.

Ayoola said, he was always sad when some parents, critics and analysts on radio and television programmes are quick to blame ASUU for the ongoing strike believing that the lecturers are on strike to agitate for increase in wages.

He said “central to this avoidable industrial dispute is the pleading by the ASUU that government should sign and begin implementation of the 2009 renegotiated agreement between the union and federal government.

At the core of this agreement was also said to have been examined again and again in 2020 and 2021 is the issue of funding for our universities among others such that the all-encompassing needs of the universities on infrastructure, researching and training, remunerations among others would have been taken care of.

“There’s no doubt that the dilly-dallying posture of our government in proper funding of these ivory towers has left many of them in sorry condition and this should not be allowed to continue”, he said

Ayoola disclosed that it might be essential for ASUU to publicise as widely as possible the agreement it entered into with the federal government to halt the misconception some people have about its desire to save the public universities from further rot and to ensure that Nigerians who could not afford the exorbitant cost of private university education could access government owned universities.

He said “though both the federal and state governments have complained of lack of resources to meet ASUU’s demands which is for the good of all in the country, but given the place of education in the overall development of any society, governments at both the federal and state levels must begin to show genuine commitment to end this strike.

“The government should stop going back and forth over an agreement it wilfully entered into and which had been examined and renegotiated over and over again. The government should be sincere with proper funding of our education sector. No country jokes with the education of its citizens and get clapped for, FG should end this strike now!”.