By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Apparently unhappy with the lingering industrial dispute between the federal government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kogi state Governor Yahaya Bello has berated the nation’s elites saying that they are inadvertently toying with the future of the Nigerian youths.
Speaking on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily monitored in Abuja
on Friday, Bello decried the passive attitude of the elites whose own children are not mostly affected by the prolonged ASUU strike, pointing out that the continued closure of the public universities portends bleak future for the Nigerian youths.
Said he: “Nigerian elites are toying with the future of Nigerian children. It is very unfortunate that our children have been at home for the past six months. It’s a sad situation which should not have happened. If we want to solve this problem, it will be solved”.
Asked if the federal government has shown enough interest to resolve the impasse, Governor Bello said he does not believe that those representing the government in the negotiation with ASUU have done a good job hence they have been unable to resolve the issues which led to the strike action.
” I don’t believe that those interfacing with the ASUU leadership are representing
Mr. President well. Probably they are not presenting the true picture of things to him because President Muhammadu Buhari I know is very passionate about education and learning and will like Nigerian students to be at home for six months and counting. I disagree”, Governor Bello posited.
Speaking further, he said: “If I am Mr. President I will do things differently and I will ensure that those I gave responsibility must deliver or I will deal the hell out them.
And if the ASUU leadership is not being reasonable in their demands, I will also be tough on them because we cannot allow our future leaders to suffer this much longer”.
The Kogi state Governor therefore asked the federal government to be decisive in resolving the issues which led to the strike action by ASUU once and for all, pointing out that “we cannot continue to toy with the future of our children”.
On the advice by the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu on Thursday to Nigerian students to go ahead to sue ASUU for embarking on strike action, Bello cautioned him for asking students to sue ASUU for embarking on strike to press for better learning environment and teachers welfare.
Said he: “Such pronouncement by the Minister of Education is most insensitive and ridiculous and should not have been made. Look, we are toying with the security of this country by keeping a large population of our youths at home. They harm it will cause is huge”.
