₦airaland Forum

When ASUU went on strike to protest the non-implementation of a legitimate agreement, some hateful trolls on Nairaland attributed it to greed on the part of the lecturers. Now NASU is on strike, resident doctors are on strike, PHCN is on strike, SSANU is commencing another strike, and I am reliably informed that polytechnic lecturers will resume their strike this week, owing to government's failure to meet their demands. Now, who is the greedy one? Is it the striking workers who are demanding their due, or is it our politicians who are denying these workers their due while simultaneously stealing the nation blind?

Smayee: who dear say muslims do not kick against discriminate killing? If you don't understand try to so you won't be an ignorant.
Make you have full knowledge of what you say cos your words defines who you are.
Every muslims country that has been experiencing unrest was once peaceful but devil(westerner) instigate war by supporting sum group with funds and weapon the same thing is about to happen to nigeria if we are not careful.
The west is after your resources not helping you. Mind you read the Holy Quran and found out what the Creator said about killing comparable to what your infidel law says.
Note if can't find time for I will teach what Islam said about unjust killing.

Truly, Islam is the religion of peace. The peaceable nature of the religion is demonstrated by the number of people killed by Islamic findamentalists every year. The more they kill, the more peaceable the religion is. Faith flourishes through the blood of innocent victims. It is just unfortunate that every Islamic country in the world tends to experience such bloody paroxysms of violence. Actually, I think it is all part of a Western campaign to give the religion a bad name. Nothing is actually more peace-inducing than Islam.

You ask about the beheadings carried out under Sharia law? Well, such people are not really killed. Their beheading is merely a means of expediting their journey to paradise, which, as you know, is a very peaceful place.

And don't worry about the fact that the number of Islamic militant franchises keeps increasing everyday. Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab, Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Al-Nusrah Brigade, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc - all these are engaged in holy competion for their place in paradise and for the limited number of ravishing young virgins on offer in that spiritual eldorado.

As to the possibility of these attacks causing apathy towards the religion, one need not worry: Nigerians aren't easily moved by anything. They will conclude that some evil spirits, not humans, came down from the air and killed those students while they were asleep. Consequently, they will go on their knees in prayer to bind those evil spirits. Trust me, nobody will blame any Muslim terrorists for the attack.

So, there is really no cause for alarm. All hail the religion of peace!

Vindy: This monorail that has eaten Billions of Dollars, does not even cover 2% of the distance of major traffic in Port harcourt, obviously he can't finish it in his tenure cos when you look at the slow pace of work, and sometimes nobody on site for months you will shudder, but this is one of the projects he is always bragging about. I live in Port harcourt, and I can tell u Ameche is highly overhyped. Compared to what this state is worth, the man is doing nothing again busy spending Rivers money to fight political opponents.

My brother, I agree with you entirely. I think it is foolhardy for any governor to spend as much time as Amaechi does fighting (real and imagined) enemies. How does he find the time to attend to the real issues for which he was elected? I am not speaking for Amaechi's opponents, neither do I support them. I repeat: I do NOT support any of them. But as an indigene of Rivers State, I am compelled to ask myself the following questions:

1) In what particular area of development has Amaechi made Rivers State the national pacesetter, given the huge monthly allocation that the state receives from the federation?

2) Can one really say that Amaechi has always put the interest of Rivers State first in all the many battles he has fought and continues to fight? To pose this question in a different way: How has Rivers State benefitted from Amaechi's confrontations with the Jonathans, and with Omehia, Okonjo-Iweala, Dickson, Bamanga Tukur, Mbu, Odilli, the traditional rulers, lecturers at RSUST, NANS, residents of Rivers State whose houses and business premises were demolished without compensation, and with a host of others too numerous to mention? How has Amaechi's antagonism towards these people translated to benefits for Rivers State?

3) Can those who applaud Amaechi in everything he does solemnly vouch that the Governor has given our state the stellar leadership that it deserves? Can anyone truly say that Amaechi is less corrupt or less inept than President Jonathan, whom he accuses of corruption and ineptitude everyday? Is there any numerical difference between twelve and a dozen?

4) As an indigene of Rivers State, am I expected to look up to the Federal Government to pave the state road that passes through my neighbourhood in PH? Wouldn't it have been wiser for the State Government to construct such roads than to invest billions in the uncompleted monorail project, which one World Bank economist, Dr Martina Angelo, has described as a "wasteful monstrosity"?

My conclusion: I am not interested in Amaechi's personal battles. I will not join him in such conflicts. Rather, as a native and resident of Rivers State, I am interested in the governance of my state. Let Amaechi sit down and govern Rivers State properly!

First, we know that this report emanates from The Nation, a newspaper owned by Bola Tinubu. Like its owner, The Nation is known to be rabidly anti-Jonathan and staunchly pro-Amaechi. We also know that the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Matthew Mbu, is a dyed-in-the-wool supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan. Knowing these, one cannot expect either side to present a completely objective account of events. Instead, each will attempt to give a slant that favours it. We should therefore digest this report with the proverbial pinch of salt.

However, my take on this issue is that either Amaechi or some overzealous acolyte of his, attempted, by speech or action, to use the occasion of the teachers' recruitment exercise to score some political points against Jonathan. Perhaps the police commissioner got wind of this or perhaps, in the petty game of one-upmanship that Rivers politics has become, he simply felt that such a welfarist programme by Amaechi would reflect badly on his principal in Abuja. So, in his overzealousness, he acted to forestall it and in the process dispersed a possibly innocuous gathering of young teaching recruits. In any case, my conjecture is that the truth lies somewhere between these two narratives.

However, in my opinion, and considering all that has transpired in this drawn out battle between the two sides, this latest incident is particularly unsavoury and uncalled for. Surely there is an extent to which things can be politicised and when one has reached that limit, common sense dictates that one should go no further. I think the gladiators in this duel have reached that limit and, for the sake of the nation, I think they should withdraw.

As I have said before, Amaechi's brand of politics - not to mention his character and mien - strikes me as unnecessarily confrontational and contumacious. What is there to gain in creating new battle fronts everyday? The distractions are just too many! Sincerely speaking, I fear for the governance of Rivers State. Does Amaechi allow himself sufficient time to sit down and govern?

On the other hand, I must confess my utter disappointment with Goodluck Jonathan. This man is allowing his subordinates and appointees to ruin what little is left of his reputation and the reputation of his government. From the Mbus to the Wikes - everyone is running amok! Mr President, be your own man, Sir, and don't allow any minister or police commissioner to rubbish you. Sack whoever needs to be sacked and make every effort to secure your place in history! Only today is guaranteed; 2015 might never come.

This is my humble opinion on this matter. I am not claiming any special knowledge or insight. I am just offering my thoughts for public discussion. I welcome comments. Thanks.

First, we know that this report emanates from The Nation, a newspaper owned by Bola Tinubu. Like its owner, The Nation is known to be rabidly anti-Jonathan and staunchly pro-Amaechi. We also know that the Rivers State Police Commissioner, Matthew Mbu, is a dyed-in-the-wool supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan. Knowing these, one cannot expect either side to present a completely objective account of events. Instead, each will attempt to give a slant that favours it. We should therefore digest this report with the proverbial pinch of salt.

However, my take is that either Amaechi or some overzealous acolyte of his attempted, by speech or action, to use the occasion of the teachers' recruitment exercise to score some political points against Jonathan. Perhaps the police commissioner got wind of this or perhaps, in the petty game of one-upmanship that Rivers politics has become, he simply felt that such a welfarist programme by Amaechi would reflect badly on his principal in Abuja. So, in his overzealousness, he acted to forestall it and in the process dispersed a possibly innocuous gathering of young teaching recruits. In any case, my conjecture is that the truth lies somewhere between these two narratives.

However, in my opinion, and considering all that has transpired in this drawn out battle between the two sides, this latest incident is particularly unsavoury and uncalled for. Surely there is an extent to which things can be politicised and when one has reached that limit, common sense dictates that one should go no further. I think the gladiators in this duel have reached that limit and, for the sake of the nation, I think they should withdraw.

As I have said before, Amaechi's brand of politics - not to mention his character and mien - strikes me as unnecessarily confrontational and contumacious. What is there to gain in creating new battle fronts everyday? The distractions are just too many! Sincerely speaking, I fear for the governance of Rivers State. Does Amaechi allow himself time to sit down and govern?

On the other hand, I must confess my utter disappointment with Goodluck Jonathan. This man is allowing his subordinates and appointees to ruin what little is left of his reputation and the reputation of his government. From the Mbus to the Wikes - everyone is running amock! Mr President, be your own man, Sir, and don't allow any minister or police commissioner to rubbish you. Sack whoever needs to be sacked and make everyone effort to secure your place in history! Only today is guaranteed; 2015 might never come.

This is my humble opinion on this matter. I am not claiming any special knowledge or insight into this matter; I am just offering my thoughts for discussion. I welcome comments. Thanks.

What is the point of contrasting your religion with someone else's? If you are persuaded that covering yourself from head to toe will lead you to paradise, then by all means do so! As far as I am concerned, we should have outgrown this simplistic binary notion that Islam's greatness is conditional on the (attempted) miniaturizing of Christianity - or vice versa. These two great religions have coexisted for thousands of years and, if it pleases God, they may yet coexist for longer.

Those who feel aggrieved by Asari Dokubo's advocacy should ask themselves the following question: Would Obasanjo and Atiku be walking free today if Nigeria were a country where the rule of law existed?

That Obasanjo is now thought of as a statesman shows how low our nation has sunk in the political leadership barometer. The fact that Atiku is even remotely considering vieing for the presidency again is a testimony to the collapse of our moral standards as a society. So, I have no qualms if anyone advocates the arrest of such political liabilities - or any others of their ilk. The sooner Nigeria brings the wreckers of its destiny to justice, the faster the nation will make progress.

Nigerians are the only people who feel that their government does not owe them anything. So when government pays the legitimate salaries of public workers, the workers rejoice as if they have won the lottery or as if some benefactor has handed them a largesse. No matter how badly their elected officials perform, no matter how wretched their daily lives become, no matter how bleak their nation's prospects are, Nigerians do not believe they can demand, much less effect, a change. They feel it is their lot to suffer and to eke out a precarious and tortuous existence in a land that is otherwise quite affluent. If anything needs to be done, God will do it, they believe. For that reason, they spend their days and nights importuning God in churches, mosques, and prayer houses, asking for miracles. They forget that God will never do for you what you can do for yourself. They criticise those who engage in public dissent, who demand their rights, who embark on strikes to press home their demands.

Nigerians are ready to cope with a failed state rather than risk not having a state at all. They forget that a state that does not safeguard the welfare of its citizenry is not a state at all, for the primary purpose of any sovereign state is to secure the wellbeing of its people. Nigerians will tell you that they know that the Federal Government signed an agreement with ASUU. However, they will also tell you that the government cannot be directly asked to acknowledge, much less implement, such an agreement. All that the affected lecturers can do is to fast and pray that government should condescend to even listen to their request. If the lecturers want their allowances paid or need better education for their children, they should "wait for their turn", or vie for elective public posts, after which they will be able to amass sufficient wealth to send their children to universities abroad.

All in all, Nigeria is perhaps the most pathetic country on earth, a country where the citizens expect nothing and get nothing from their government. O, sorry, they actually get something: they get sufficient misery to last them a lifetime.

I totally condemn the actions of the said pastor who acted in such a deplorable and surreptitious manner. I am sure the police will get to the root of the matter and will prosecute any suspect(s) at the end of their investigations.

However, I have noticed a rather morbid tendency on the part of the moderators of this forum to scandalize and fetishize any story that concerns the alleged atrocities or supposed misdeeds of pastors and other prominent members of the Christian faith. Such stories frequently make the front page and tend to elicit sanctimonious vitriol from contributors who invariably asume a posture of spiteful aloofness. Has anyone else noticed such a tendency, or am I imagining things?

The reason I am making this point is that a great tragedy of international ramifications is unfolding in the Kenyan Westgate Mall, where Al-Shabaab jihadists have killed more than 60 innocent people and injured hundreds of others, with the victims representing a number of different nationalities. As reported by all the world's major news agencies, the terrorists shouted in Swahili that all Muslims in the mall would be allowed to leave while adherrents of other religions would be slaughtered.

My question is: Was this not an atrocity committed by religious people? Why has it not generated as much interest and controversy on Nairaland as has this poor child's nocturnal interment by a pastor?

oily Yoruba: This is the most foolish thread ever, by a typical nigerian. How can one compare a state (Rivers) to a country (Rwanda)? Even if Rivers gets $1 trillion a month, it's less likely to beat Rwanda with say, a $100m a month. This is simply because Rivers cannot do anything without the interference from Abuja. Until the useless zoological republic of nigeria ceases to exist, there is absolutely nothing good that will come out of that place.

What an obtuse and utterly disingenuous argument! So, if Governor Amaechi had decided to reconstuct all the deplorable roads in his state and had proposed to give his people free education and free healthcare, the Federal Government would have vetoed such plans. Is that your argument? If that is what you mean, then perhaps you think members of this forum are fools. As for me, I cannot be conned by some nifty political apologists desperate to justify years of underdevelopment in the midst of multibillion-naira monthly allocations. Mark my words: If any impartial reckoning were to be done, the investigators would discover that today's Nigerian politicians - and that includes your patron saint, Amaechi - have perpetrated the most brazen and heinous thievery ever carried out in the name of governance. And mark my words again: Such so-called political leaders can never escape the terribly bitter retribution that awaits them.

On Saturday, gunmen burst into a shopping mall in Kenya, firing automatic weapons and "tossing grenades like maize to chickens." According to reports confirmed by virtually all the world's major news agencies, the gunmen shouted in Swahili that Muslims would be allowed to leave, while all others would be slaughtered. Later on, a Twitter feed belonging to the extremist group Al- Shabaab claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the Somali terrrorist group.

In summary, the latest figures indicate about 70 fatalities and more than 150 injured persons, with several foreign nationals and at least one prominent African poet listed among the dead.

For us Africans, this latest attack should be viewed from the perspective of similar attacks by other jihadist outfits in Africa - including Nigeria's dreaded Boko Haram and al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the terrorist franchise that operates in north Africa. These activities should concern us because, at a forum of the African Union in 2012, many international security agencies warned African heads of state that these organisations were deepening their ties with each other and were unobtrusively coordinating their actions across the African continent.

Furthermore, and perhaps more worryingly, even the most aggressive military campaigns in recent years against these terrorist groups - the Nigerian army on Boko Haram, the French on al-Qaeda in Mali, the African Union on al-Shabaab in Somalia - have been unable to fully root out any of them. And as the strike on the Kenyan mall shows, extremist violence knows no bounds. In fact, as one captured jihadist is reported to have said, there is neither north nor south in jihad.

My question, then, is: Who will save us from the scourge of extremist religious violence? How will Africa cope with this latest threat along with the continent's myriad other challenges?

brownlord: ...But you only succeeded in saying nada sorry nothing.

Communication is not by speaking grammer but making sense with ur grammer.

Don't you think the ASUU stike hv a political motivation? Was the agreement signed today? Do u tink those lecturers really deserve what they clamouring for? Dint they ASUU enter into agreement with the student that paid exorbitant fee to be taught and complete their course of study within a stipulated time and now those student are bn made to pay for crime they are innocent of? Do u knw tht in ghana here if their university body goes on strike and it exceeds 21 days they going to repeat the academic year for the whole university ( so I heard ). Why do Nigerians now run to benin republic, ghana, south africa, phillipine, india, kuwait ukraine to school? Am not supporting the fg. But 90% of those lecturers do not merit what they are currently earning not to talk of what they are demanding for, do you know how mny lecturers where sacked in uniben for different offences, ranging from admission racket, bribe, molestation etc? Bro, in some state schools, lecturing jobs are giving based on ethnicity? Most lecturers can't even operate a computer yet they are lecturing, future computer scientist, the truth remains the students are the sacrificial anode ( abeg I no be checmistry student ) incase I nor knw d meaning of anode.

Dear friend, you are entitled to your opinion. If you are convinced that my words amount to foolishness, why, I have absolutely no right to compel you to change that opinion! But I hope you will also allow me to hold my own opinion, which is that anyone who writes the kind of "grammer" (sic) that you have written could not have had the benefit of a good education, which is exactly why ASUU is on strike. That is also why you should support ASUU's struggle, in the hope that if you can't benefit from qualitative education on account of your (apparently) advanced age, then perhaps your children can.

This is a clownish exhibition of misguided zealousness by a gang of mercenaries. How come they haven't asked the court to determine whether the Federal Government is in breach of the ASUU/FGN Agreement? And why haven't they sued the Federal Government as co-defendants? In whom does the Constitution vest the responsility of providing education for the Nigerian citizenry? Is it ASUU or is it the Government? Nigeria will never develop until Nigerians learn to reject the crumbs that fall from the tables of power and learn instead to stand up for their rights. Any right-thinking person will realise that the Federal Government is to blame for the current impasse in our federal universities. But when people's minds are beclouded by filthy lucre, then obviously one cannot expect them to think logically. Instead, they will argue that the Federal Government is not responsible for any agreements it signed and that a labour union has no right to demand that the legitimate allowances of its members be paid. Such people will even allege that anyone who demands qualitative education is a traitor and should be summarily executed for trying to cause a social upheaval. It is quite a pathetic case of self-inflicted paranoia but it exists in Nigeria nonetheless.

redsun: How is amaechi different from gej.What does he do with the state allocation that is worth commending?How rich was he before he became and governor and how rich is he now?

Don't mind those who pretend that Amaechi is Nigeria's messiah. Let them continue in their self-delusion. As for me, I know that Nigeria's salvation does not lie in the hands of any treasury looter. I am not deceived by political grandstanding and hypocritical self-righteousness. Mark my words: Sooner or later, Amaechi and his ilk will be revealed as the impostors that they truly are.

gbengadada2004: [b]No Nigerian University will be among the top 100 in the world for several reasons. Education is money. Countries like South Africa that have many of their Universities highly rated in Africa are really investing in education. You can imagine, the South African president saying that 50% of their budget goes to education. Ghana is allocating 30% of their budget to education. Nigeria only allocated 8% to education, yet we want to be highly rated like some of these Universities. Lecturer student ratio is another basic thing they use in rating Universities. In many of our Universities in Nigeria you will see one lecturer teaching 1,000 students in some cases. That is absurd. Many of our Universities don't subscribe to the journals in different fields that will help the students in their research work. Libraries are loaded with outdated books. Poor internet facility. How can be be highly rated? Nigerians are very intelligent, they are lecturing in many of this Universities that are highly rated. However, our government have not provided a conducive environment for them to be able to come back home. [/b]

My brother, you are absolutely right. Nigeria's major industry is corruption and the Government has no time for education. This is a country where politicians collectively spend more on their girlfriends than the Government is willing to spend on education. Heck, the PDP national headquarters in Abuja is better funded than all of Nigeria's universities combined. Even our Senate President alone can afford to pay the miserly salaries of all the lecturers in the top five universities in Nigeria, with ample funds left over. In a country with such misplaced priorities - where politicians are so rich and teachers are so impoverished - how can any of our universities be listed among the first 100? Personally, I don't even expect any of our tertiary institutions to be listed among the first 10,000!

UNIXLover: and the Nigeria University Undergraduates are still siting at home probably watching series and BBA. Weldone ASUU

If "well done ASUU" is an attempt at sarcasm, that attempt has failed. ASUU is not to blame for this strike; the FG is. Tell the Government to honour its agreement.

Misplaced priorities. Instead of suing an intransigent government that has reneged on an agreement, you are suing a labour union for asking government to implement the agreement. This nonsense can only happen in Nigeria.

prem love: Since you know everything you would have won the world cup for us bck then. enemy of progress

Human beings are naturally averse to criticism, but I think it would be foolhardy to dismiss Bonfrere Jo's comments in such an offhand manner. There are gems of good sense in some of his words. A wise coach would select the wheat from his comments and throw away the chaff. But trust the typical Nigerian to throw a tantrum at the faintest hint of criticism.

Dear man of God, does the Bible not say that a labourer deserves his wages? Why then are you arguing that ASUU should be disbanded for insisting on the payment of their earned allowances? And does the Holy Book not admonish us to keep our word, that our yes should be yes and our nay, nay? Why then are you not calling on the Federal Government to honour an agreement that it freely entered into? Or are you preaching a gospel of doublespeak, with one set of rules for the powerful and another set of rules for the weak?

Mr Aboki: [b]I'm very much in support of Universities charging a justifiable tuition fee..

YEAH!!! I know say people dey suffer for country .. BUT! I was raised to understand that Education is not only expensive but also priceless. If your papa no fit afford to send you go Private University or Abroad, then I'm sorry, you have got to hussle hard. Na life na ehn share card no give you WHOT..

Okay! I know say some people don set to curse this shoe-shining Aboki.. Please heres my Logic;

1. A University is an expensive venture to run and operate. Go ask MIT and Harvard how much it costs them to maintain their high standards. _{#In Pidgin:: Better soup and money have alot in common..}

2. The Nigerian government obviously lacks the ability to run anything _{not even a race}.. Look at all their failed ventures like: NITEL, NEPA, PHCN, WATER BOARD, e.t.c.. Just like in business, the only successful Educational institutions in Nigeria are all privately run. NO SURPRISES. So if we need progress in the Educational system, we need to privatise all our Federal Univeristies and even state Universities.. Or make them autonomous.. Let them charge their own fees and determine their own salary structure. Saves us the problem of ASUU strike. However, the power of NANS should be preserved and fine tuned in a way.

3. MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS!!!! Ghen! Ghen!!!! SO the government through the ministry of education can set up a scholarship fund system based on merit. If your CGPA|CWA drops below a certain benchmark, you get a certain percent of your tuition in scholarship. It can be graded upwards to accomodate average - top class students. If you are below average, you either buckle up or make your daddy get a good paying job to pay for your tuition. #Period!



I believe that this will bring about a serious turn around in our education system, eliminate all these half baked graduates that only went to school because it was free|cheap and poorly run..




#Thats all..

_{Thats why many Abokis no dey even bother to go school...}

[/b]

If the consequences of Government's nonchalance towards education weren't already so disastrous for our young people, and if the decay in our universities didn't hold such potentially catastrophic implications for the future of the nation, I would have ignored your comments as the rantings of a severely obtuse and pathetically ignorant village yokel. But since your reasoning seems so deceptively logical and since I would not want to allow visitors to this forum to go away with such erroneous views about the ASUU struggle, I would like to state the following:

a) The Federal Government has failed to implement an agreement that it voluntarily signed in 2009, an agreement that would have gone a long way to ensure that Nigerian universities are no longer the laughing stock of the academic world.

b) An assessment team set up by the FG discovered that due to lack of toilet facilities, students living in many university hostels now use a system jokingly called "shot put" to defecate. They excrete into nylon bags and throw them anywhere they can! The team also observed that most laboratories lacked such basic equipment as pipettes, bunsen burners, and even the cheapest reagents. In the alternative, lecturers used straws, kerosine stoves, and pretty much anything else they could find.

c) Every public university in Nigeria - and I repeat, EVERY public university in Nigeria - admits more students than it has lecturers to handle. In other words, no university is allowed to operate within its admission quota or carriage capacity as set by the National Universities Commission and recognised by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board. The pressure to admit more students usually comes from high-ranking politicians and other eminent people in society who send in all manner of spurious admissions requests that must be honoured. As a result, lecturers are compelled to teach and examine bloated classes, for which the FG admitted that lecturers deserve, but are not paid, due excess workload allowances. One of the aims of the 2009 agreement was to address this anomaly.

d) To argue, therefore, that lecturers are greedy because they have asked the FG to honour its own agreement is to insult the intelligence of Nigerians and to impugn the intergrity of the many conscientious and brilliant scholars who work in the Nigerian university system. That is not to say that there are no bad eggs among them. But shall we jettison university education in Nigeria because some lecturers are corrupt? Should we close down all the government hospitals in Nigeria because some doctors are unscrupulous?

e) Finally, are you really serious in suggesting that only the rich should aspire for university education? If so, you are not only ignorant, as I assumed; you are also a narcissist.

Nigeria's dysfunction did not begin with Tompolo. He is merely another symptom of a chronic malaise. A country where criminals such as Babangida and Obasanjo are now seen as statesmen from whom we seek advice on how to manage the nation's affairs - such a country is already a failed state. So, there is no longer any need to write jeremiads about the injustices that thrive in this country; the country is in the throes of death. Corruption and its attendant iniquities have been enthroned as the guiding principles of state policy. Nigeria has become the very definition of a dystopia in much the same way as Somalia was for more than two decades. If you ask me, I would say that only a providential miracle, an act of God, can save this nation from total collapse. I say so because Nigerians have neither the courage nor the unity of purpose to physically compel a change in the nation's direction, that is if such a change were humanly possible at all. The various political, religious, ethnic, and economic contradictions that the British bequeathed to us - and which our politicians have worked hard to worsen and to exploit - are such that even a hundred mini-Nigerias would not survive. So, except an intervention of apocalyptic proportions takes place, the entity called Nigeria will not be much better than it is today. In fact, the indications are that it will be much worse.

Kudos to the poster. We need more of such inspirational posts on Nairaland, not the usual diet of banal comments that are characterised by hate-filled vitriol, ethnic slurs, and sanctimonious religiosity. I absolutely detest the intellectual shallowness and the rhetorical vulgarity that I sometimes find in this forum and I hope that other members will take a leaf out of the poster's book.

It appears that the FG has come to the conclusion that it can no longer fund university education. Consequently, my candid advice to the Government is to close down all the federal universities and make it known to the whole wide world that the country is, for all intents and purposes, bankrupt. By so doing, everyone will know that the country can no longer meet its financial obligations.

Furthermore, since Government will not be expected to spend its money on anything, that will give our politicians the freedom to engage in their favourite pastime, which is looting public funds. Above all, no lecturer will have the grounds to make any demands on Government or to ask it to honour any agreement, since Government shall have declared itself insolvent and the country shall have formally become a failed state.

This is the most scandalous, most outrageous, statement ever to proceed out of the debauched lips of the shameless parasites who call themselves our leaders. May thunder scatter the imbecilic mouth that uttered that drivel! May the illicit funds you have stashed in foreign bank accounts become the source of your undoing! May your fate be worse than the one that befell Abacha! May the law courts of foreign lands use you as an example of the severe punishment that awaits incorrigible looters!

Nonsense! A pathologically corrupt government that spends one trillion naira on its legislators, pays its Senate President more than 88 million naira a month, and feeds its President and his family with the sum of one billion naira - that is the same government that professes itself too poor to pay its university lecturers. May a vile and virulent nemesis catch up with you contemptible thieves!

Lordave: ASUU should also be sensible. How could they be asking for such amount of money by this time of the year, knowing fully well that this year's budget must have been implemented.



I think some people have highjacked this association for selfish interests. They want the federal government to go on borrowing so that they can open their wide, smelling hypocritic mouth and say that the president is clueless.


GEJ can not be dragged down by rascals.

This is perhaps the most irrational and ill-informed comment I have read in years. Who told you that ASUU just brought up this demand at "this time of the year"? For your information, Government has been in default of its obligations to the lecturers since 2009 when it voluntarily signed an agreement with them. Besides, ASUU has been pleading with the FG since then to honour the agreement.

If you had any grey matter in your head you would have realised that the major cause of Nigeria's impoverishment is the frenzied thievery that goes by the name of governance in this country. Paying lecturers their legitimate allowances can NEVER render the nation bankrupt.

And by the way, nobody needs to call Goodluck Jonathan a clueless president; his actions speak for him.

In the midst of all the propaganda being bandied about and the misinformation swirling around in internet forums in respect of the ASUU strike, certain truths stand out:

a) The FG acknowledged in 2009 that universities were grossly underfunded, that their infrastructure were dilapidated and in dire need of intervention, and that lecturers were teaching and examining bloated classes and logging in excess work hours for which they deserved, but were not paid, due allowances.

b) To adress these anomalies, the FG and ASUU, after lengthy negotiations, signed an agreement in 2009. This agreement was not implemented, and throughout 2010 and 2011 ASUU made several appeals to all segments of society in a bid to persuade the FG to implement the said agreement.

c) Finally, after hundreds of appeal letters, courtesy visits, and press conferences, all of which failed to make any impression on government, lecturers embarked on a strike in December 2011. As a result of the strike, Government called for another round of negotiations and signed an MOU on January 24, 2012, detailing ways in which it would immediately set about implementing the 2009 agreement. Consequently, lecturers suspended their strike.

d) In the 2009 agreement, Government pledged to provide a total of N1.5 trillion spread over three years(2009-2011) to address the infrastructural rot and decay in the universities. Needless to say, this money was never provided. With the coming of the MOU, Government promised "to stimulate the process of revitalising" the system, an intervention which would be built up to a yearly sum of N400 billion "in the next three years" (2013-2015) . Thus, by the MOU, the Government was supposed to provide N400 billion YEARLY. So, a unilateral grant of N100 million for infrastructure is an aberration and is outside the provisions of the ASUU/FGN Agreement.

e) Note that as part of the MOU, the FG set up a NEEDS Assessment Team. This team toured the nation and found that at one of the biggest universities in the north one toilet serves more than 500 students, and in many others, students receive lectures under trees, while many university libraries are largely stocked with books published in the 1970s and 1980s, and laboratories lack the most basic equipment; among other amazing findings.

e) As at today, the provisions of the agreement imply that Government is indebted to all staff of federal universities - note, all staff - to the tune of about N92 billion, an amount that represents their legitimately earned allowances for the past four years. Therefore, the unilateral grant of N30 billion, in lieu of earned allowances, is at best a donation on the part of Government and is outside the Agreement.

f) Given this state of affairs, is it reasonable to ask the lecturers to call off their strike?

azeezengr: ...Reading in the night for long hours...as I have got to do some "practical" project for peaceful co-existence!

"My son, be amonished: Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh" (Eccl. 12:12).
But "enjoy life with the wife whom you love ...and whatever you do (to her or with her at night), do it with all your might" (Eccl. 9:9,10).

k4kenny: Hmmm. Lemme see. My maiden name, address, some degree of freedom (not that I was an outgoing person), the ability to watch tv all night long (in fact general interest in tv, hardly watch it these days), living space, had to port from a big comfy duplex to a tiny 2 b/r flat :-/

On the other hand I gained
A loving caring man
A cosy, happy albeit small home
2 wonderful, beautiful, amazing, heart
warming( could go on forever...) Kids
The ability to be s queen of my small home. I run tins my way
A renowned sense of responsibility
Also a few lbs due to childbirth

Your post almost brought tears to my eyes, even though, as a man, I don't often shed tears. It's so heart-warming to imagine the love that must surround that cosy little home. Please do everything to sustain that warmth. The world definitely needs more of such happy families. Thanks for sharing that love with us. God bless you.

Symphony007: What a disgrace. Francis has thrown the palpacy to the dogs. In the glorious days of the vatican, if a king is visiting the pope, he is stripped of all his jewels and fine clothings and made to wear a plain pilgrims cloak, then he is ushered into the sixtine chapel were the pope is seated upon his golden throne surrounded by senoir cardinals and swiss guards. As the king enters the chapel, the pope rises from his throne and proceed down the stairs when he gets to the bottom, the almighty king falls to the ground and kiss the pope's red shoe.

Their royal majesties, the king and queen of spain greet pope benedict.

My dear, Jesus said "he who wishes to be a master must be the servant of all." The Pope, as Vicar of Christ, has demonstrated what true leadership entails. I am not a Catholic but I salute this man's humility.

Please, let's not try to cast this Pope in our own image. It is better for him to remain true to himself as he currently is. I wish the Holy Father a very successful tenure.

Nigeria is an abnormality in every sense of the word. In other major oil-producing countries such as Kuwait, Qatar, Norway, and UAE, education is free or highly subsidised for citizens, and their university professors are some of the most generously remunerated in the world. Nigeria, on the other hand, is a fiefdom designed for the exclusive benefit of political overlords who gorge themselves on the nation's resources, while the citizenry can go to hell. The tragic truth is that this system is not sustainable and will soon crash. Sadly for the poor, the nation is fast going the way of Somalia, and there might be few avenues of escape for the weak and vulnerable. The rich politicians, many of whose families are already living abroad, are merely bidding their time to abandon a sinking ship. The crisis in the education sector, therefore, is merely one symptom of a general malaise. No half-measures will cure Nigeria's dysfunction, and even if this current impasse were to end today, another one, in this or some other sector, will replace it. The Nigerian government is manned by incorrigible crooks and only a thorough purge will rid us of the tyranny of mediocrity. Nigerians must help themselves or remain helpless.

watered: Whatever they choose to do is left to them. As for me d FG has done its best and d stubborn ASUU shouldn't expect a miraculous transformation of the education sypstem.

Reading comments like yours is so exasperating that I consider it pointless to write a rejoinder. However, since I suspect that yours might be either a case of congenital obtuseness or a constricted worldview occasioned by poor education, I should like to inform you that the current FG, which you adulate as having "done its best", is in fact one of the most inept administrations, even by Nigeria's abysmal standards. If in doubt, check the latest development reports released by the African Development Bank (AfDB). If you conduct some more research (which I doubt you can), you will realise that a "small" country like Ghana spends more than 30% of its budget on education, whereas the so-called giant of Africa spends less than 8%, in actual terms, on the same sector. Finally, if signing an agreement and then reneging on it is your idea of doing one's best, then I think it will take an unprecedented miracle for you to improve beyond the lowlife that you currently are.