ASUU VS KOGI STATE GOVERNMENT: DISAGREMENT TO KILL THE INSTITUTION

Education is and remains the bedrock on which socio-political and economic activities of every society, state or nation has its footing. It is in concordance to this fact that various societies of the world give great attention to acquisition of knowledge in schools and pay deaf ears to illiteracy.

In Kogi state though, the case seems to be different as academic activities in its highest citadel of learning, the Kogi state university Anyigba has since January 2017 been laid to rest as a result of the prolonged strike action embarked upon by its chapter’s Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as a result of the inability of the state government to meet up with some of the agreement reached by both parties last year.

 This though is not the first of such industrial action embarked upon by the association as they have been records of incessant strike actions in the past. It is disheartening though that cases like this keep showing up its ugly head one administration after the other, leaving the world with no choice than to wonder if Nigerian leaders give any value to education.

In 2013, it was the national ASUU strike which lasted from July to December that year. Six months wasted on doing virtually nothing. Imagine six months without academic activities within any of the government owned higher institutions within the country. It simply means no acquisition of higher education, no researches or further studies and definitely no discoveries.

The present administration of President Muhammad Buhari owned up to the fact that such trend is not worth emulating. That surely remains why no record of such has been kept by his administration. The prolonged home stay of students of Kogi state university is not just denting an indelible mark on the state and national image, but also leading to under utilization of bright minds.

Apportioning blames won’t be the case here, but a national appeal to the office of the President for intervention in the crisis is what is been sort after. Seven months has gone by and still students remain at home. 99% of them are doing nothing rather than praying for the full reopening of school. Fresh graduates are unable to be mobilized for their compulsory one year national youth service. Parents are tired of seeing their children wallowing in idleness. Something needs to be done pretty fast to salvage the situation. The idle mind remains the devil’s workshop, and a workshop carved out of an idle youthful mind will surely result in a calamitous end.

All grievances must be kept aside and all agreements fulfilled. A promise they say is debt that must be paid. As Nkem Owoh (Ukwa) rightly said “agreement is agreement”. Full reopening of the school is what everyone desires. Disagreeing to kill the institution must be the last resort. 

Comr Ojonimi Amedu

Ad manager, Spi-Media