ASUU strike and students’ dilemma

“The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership, the Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the
responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.” -Chinua Achebe.

It’s exactly four months since universities were shutdown due to the lingering strike by the Academic Staff of Universities, ASUU. It’s disheartening for millions of university students like me in this country who are at home idle seeing their fundamental rights to education being thwarted.

The government and politicians are busy with their political and elections shenanigans and they do not bother to look into the menace of this excessive strikes.

None of the candidates vying to be president has been able to present a blueprint on how to tackle the incessant ASUU strikes. This is utterly devastating. I have always thought about who to vote when it comes to the issue of education in Nigeria.

To be candid, I don’t know how this country will continue to survive when its education sector is crippled. When the aviation sector wanted to embark on strike, a day to the strike the issue was resolved because it’s not education sector, this is too sad for Nigeria.

The elections adventure is their concern now. Nigeria’s ruling elite invest heavily in politics to the detriment of education and other relevant sectors that will accelerate the socio-economic development of the country.

The ASUU strike may be over soon or next year after the elections.
Let’s turn to the Lord (Allah) in prayers, to give us good leaders who have the country at heart and to fulfill our vision and mission and make our country great.

Aliyu Idris,
Bayero University,
Kano
[email protected]