By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
As students, parents and entire society are frustrated over the continued closure of the universities, the immediate past President of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) Professor Abiodun Ogunyemi, has called on citizens to persuade the Federal Government to quickly resolve the impasse between it and ASUU.
Professor Ogunyemi also said that it is time for the government to put a closure on the disagreement that has lasted for over four years between it and ASUU, pointing out that it is time for Nigerians to join ASUU to ask the federal government to fund the Educational Sector.
Speaking on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, Professor Ogunyemi argued that the federal government does not prioritise education hence the unwillingness to implement agreements reached with the Union for the past four years.
Said he: “We have to see education as Public Good because of the universal value of education. The more the children of the poor access education the better the society.
“Unfortunately, a draft documents ASUU and government signed since four years ago have not been implemented. This is not helpful. We should put a closure for the disagreement that has lasted for four years”.
Explaining further, the former ASUU boss stated that: “I led ASUU for five years and for four years I was at the head of ASUU Negotiation Committee with the federal government but things have not changed”.
He blamed Wale Babalakin’s Federal Government Negotiations Committee for the impasse which has lasted for four years, pointing out that: “the crux of the matter was when Babalakin proposed that Nigerian students will take loan of N1m to pay N700k as school fees”.
Professor Ogunyemi also disclosed that other areas of disagreements with government includes granting universities autonomy, payment of salaries and insistence of government to run like the civil service.
He also accused the government of not willing to allow universities governed by the Governing Council while giving the institutions a paltry N100,000 per annum to run the universities.
Said he: “Consultancy Services in universities are being outsourced while universities are not well equipped to performance their statutory functions in the development of the nation.
“And, we are saying let us have a Benchmark of educational standard comparable to what obtains in other climes to be able to attract foreign students”.
On what has changed between when he was ASUU President and now, Professor Ogunyemi said nothing has changed at all as FG kept promising without implementing the promises.
According to him: “the crux of the matter is that FG does not want to implement agreement. This is clear, FG has not prioritised Education in Nigeria. They don’t care about the state of education in the country.
“Look, when the same FG challenged ASUU on the alternative mode of payment for university lecturers other than IPPIS, we gave them UTAS, a technological innovation better than the IPPIS but look out where we are. They don’t want implement it to be used to pay university lecturers.
“If a closure should be put to the agreements reached between FG and ASUU, there will be peace in the universities. The best way to put a closure is to go back to what was agreed years back”.
Professor Ogunyemi however said if Nigeria as a country wants rapid development, it must key into Knowledge Economy, stressing the need for Nigerian universities to play a huge role in achieving this.
Said he: “if we want to key into Knowledge Economy then we have to prioritise Education but
politicians don’t have stakes in Nigeria education hence they are don’t care what happens to Education Sector. I therefore call on Nigerians to join ASUU to ask FG to fund the Education Sector.
“Contractocrcy is what politicians want , they kept harping on contracts in every sphere of our national live including the in the Oil Sector hence the craze for subsidy. ASUU does not believe in this shenanigans around fuel subsidy because we have processed it and found out that it is a hoax.
“Subsidy is a cesspool of corruption. How else can one explain the fact that Nigeria is about the only country that produces crude oil but does not have a single refinery working. It’s not acceptable. Nigerian universities can solve this if properly funded”.
