GRADUATE PRESIDENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PERSISTENT ASUU STRIKES!

There was a time in the history of the nation of Nigeria when the fame of two distinguished UNIVERSITY GRADUATES hit the headlines as they became instant celebrities because they won the presidential election. The team of the late Umaru Yar' Ardua (M Sc.), and Ebele Jonathan (P hd.), were the first set of Nigerian graduates to rule Nigeria since the departure of the Colonial masters in 1960.
The late Dr.Nnamdi Azikiwe, though a graduate scholar, singularly held a ceremonial presidential position in the First Parliamentary Democracy and that was why expectations were so high from among the population who hailed, trusted and believed that the new rulers would bring to the table new ideas that would proffer brilliant, solutions to the myriad of political, economic, and social challenges (especially, QUALITY EDUCATION), that had plagued the nation for so long, like no other!
The eight years before 2007, when the new democratic experiment was put in place, a former military Head of State in the person of Chief Aremu Obasanjo vetoed the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation's (UNESCO), recommendation that 26.5% of annual national budgets of each country be appropriated to the Education Sector, by allotting a paltry 03%/06% instead!
Though not a university graduate, but enjoys the privilege of a honorary doctorate degree holder, he once confessed in one of his comedy, "NA DASH THEM DASH ME!"
Unfortunately, the celebrated DUO of Umaru/Jonathan failed to meet the yearnings of patriotic citizens who adduced so much confidence to them! They neither improved, by correcting the failures/anomalies of Obasanjo, nor introduced innovations into the Education Sector by conforming with UNESCO'S recommendation 26.5% appropriation!
Even when Jonathan became President following his demise on 5th May, 2010 and picked another graduate, Architect Nnamadi Sambo, they further pushed education into the remotest corner of the PDP Manifesto and promoted illiteracy at the tertiary level while the intelligentsia categorized Nigerian Universities as, "GLORIFIED SECONDARY SCHOOLS!"

If ex-President Jonathan, who obtained his PhD in Zoology could equivocally and publicly declare that, "STEALING IS NOT CORRUPTION", what better intellectual capacity should one expect from graduates from ILL-FUNDED AND ILL-EQUIPPED Nigerian tertiary institutions? By that deliberate negative attitude towards National Education, those leaders had inadvertently laid a BED OF THORNS AND THISTLES, which they have sadly discovered was most uncomfortable for successive governments to LIE OR SLEEP ON, in view of the violent attitudinal and unethical reactions of over 30% illiterate Nigerian Youths against government policies - whether popular or unpopular!

Persistent agitations by both universities lecturers and students for better learning, teaching/research environment and facilities, had been the order of the day even within the ranks of educators and the elites who believe that QUALITATIVE EDUCATION WOULD ALWAYS REMAIN THE BED-ROCK AND ASSET OF EVERY NATION'S HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT!

ASUU'S STRIKES ARE LEGITIMATE!
ASUU's organized strikes which had negatively affected and disrupted academic curriculums in tertiary institutions since the year 2001 were prompted through protests against decadence, lack of basic infrastructures which were itemized as modern classrooms and libraries with internet facilities, hostel accommodations, hi-tech laboratories, inadequate remunerations and emoluments that have subsequently led to staff depletion, lower academic impartation/impactation and the SYSTEMIC DECAY of the educational system on the nation!

As a result most Nigerian graduates were rejected from the labour market because they were academically unsound and could not meet international standards!
The latest strike action draws its antecedence from the unfulfilled/unimplemented official promises of 2001, between ASUU, Federal and State Governments, in the following areas:
(1) FUNDING;
(2) UNIVERSITY AUTONOMY;
(3) ACADEMIC FREEDOM;
(4) EARNED ACADEMIC ALLOWANCES; AND,
(5) REGISTRATION OF UNIVERSITIES PENSION MANAGEMENT COMPANY;
until 14th August, 2006, ( five years after the initial negotiations), during which proposals for re-negotiation of the 2001 Agreements which was muted by the Federal Government produced a 51-page long new agreement, signed by both parties in October, 2009 - WHICH WAS ALSO NOT HONOURED!
However, in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed 24th January, 2012 with ASUU, the Federal Government (FG), agreed to INJECT, N1.3Trillion, into Federal Universities over a period of THREE YEARS as follows:
(a) N100 billion in 2012;
(b) N400 billion in 2013;
(c) N400 billion in 2014; and
(d) N400 in 2015.
As usual the FG reneged on the MoU but when ASUU, embarked on a nation-wide strike from February to June 2013, it now offered instead, N300 billion for Enhanced Academic Allowances and N200 billion, to BREACH, Noticeable Infrastructural Gap in Federal Universities!
Available information reveals that only N200 billion was released to the body in 2013, and since then there had been no further appropriation! ALL OF THE ABOVE DECEITS WHICH THEY SUPERVICED, PROVE THAT THOSE GRADUATES PRESIDENTS PLACED NO SERIOUS PREMIUM ON EDUCATION!

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE!
ASUU's nation-wide strike which began on 13th August, 2017, has birthed two weeks of pain, anguish, disgust, mistrust and faithlessness among the teeming Nigerian students and youths who are the VICTIMS of FG's absolute insincerity, gross violation and dereliction of Constitutional Provisions in respect of Education as stipulated in Chapter II, Section 18 (1) (2) and (3 a-d), of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of 1999.

The APC Change Mantra Government, which inherited all of the above unreliable and unrealistic agreements has offered to pay N23 billion (Academic Earned Allowance), and N1.5 billion monthly, to ASUU pending the outcome of the forensic audit being carried out by the Federal Ministry of Finance to ascertain the entire transactions since 2001. Government also agreed to other demands by ASUU Leadership team comprising the President, Professor 'Biodun Ogunyemi, and his Vice, Emmanuel Osodeke, including a former President, Dr. Dipo Fashina.
Professor Ogunyemi has said that the national struggle to revitalise the Nigerian university system was comprehensive and total and that the strike would be called off when FG fulfilled its side of the bargains between 2001-2012, adding that the outstanding deficit was about N825 billion!
In Ghana, government appropriates 30% of its annual Budget to Education at all levels and affluent Nigerians send their children and wards to Ghana to acquire pre-nursery to university education in a country where everything works!

HOW WOULD PEACE ENDURE IN A NATION DOMINATED BY JOBLESS/ HALF-BAKED YOUTHS WHO FORM THE LARGER POPULATION? BOKO HARAM TERRORISTS; AREWA CONSULTATIVE YOUTHS FORUM; O'ODUA PEOPLES CONGRESS (OPC), AND THE SOUTH-SOUTH PIPELINE VANDALS AND OTHER MILITANTS, ALL OF WHICH ARE YOUTH-BASED ARE VICIOUS AND CRIMINAL GROUPS WHO HAVE BEEN TROUBLING NIGERIA SINCE 1999!

APC Change Administration should not foot-drag on this very serious issue on which THE SOUL OF NIGERIA RESTS! All of ASUU's requests have legal foundations and backings and should be honoured without further delay! Nigerians are tired of CIRCUS CIRCLES! A nation without education will remain a JUNGLE SOCIETY! According to ASUU, appropriations of 6 &7% had been released in the last two years of the new administration.
"TRAIN UP A CHILD IN THE WAY HE SHOULD GO; AND WHEN HE IS OLD, HE NOT DEPART FROM IT. (PROVERBS 22:6).

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon. 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066 g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.

OK

It's all about blame game..
Wonder how people can spend time narrating how a problem starts without profering a resounding solution to solve the problem..
Some Problems are not something that one can solved at the imminent time but can managed before the long awaited solution comes..
I see how the former adminstration impacted on educational sector by providing more fedral universities and releasin money for ETFproject that built and renovate dialipitate structures in the schools..
Did'nt see why some fundamental political bigots will sit down ane begin to discredit people that has contributed there own quota to the National Educational system..
Useless misplaced Energy.
By the way what is this year Educational budget...?