ASUU strike: President Buhari appeals to union to reconsider strike action

President Muhammadu Buhari has urged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to reconsider its position as the ongoing strike action continues to affect an entire generation and the nation.

This was disclosed in a statement by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, when he received some governors, legislators and political leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at his residence in Daura, Katsina State on Monday.

He also urged agitators in the South-South to stop vandalising national assets, an action which, he said, also affected their livelihoods, according to NAN.

What the President is saying

Buhari said the strike had already taken a toll on the psychology of parents, students and other stakeholders, throwing up many moral issues begging for attention,

Citing that the FG respect the union’s position, Buhari said, “We hope that ASUU will sympathise with the people on the prolonged strike. Truly, enough is enough for keeping students at home. Don’t hurt the next generation for goodness sake.”

He called on ASUU leaders and members to persuade the lecturers to reconsider their position and its effect on an entire generation and the nation.

“Nigerian students will be faced with the challenge of competing with others in a technology-driven workspace,” he said, adding that keeping them at home, only deprives them of time, skill and opportunities to be relevant on the global stage.

“Colonial type education was geared towards producing workers in government. Those jobs are no longer there.

“Our young people should get education to prepare them for self-employment. Now education is for the sake of education.

“Through technology, we are much more efficient. We should encourage our children to get education not only to look for government jobs,’’ he stressed.

On infrastructure, he urged that resources should be channelled more into building infrastructure and operations of the health and educational sectors, not to expand the bureaucracy to create job opportunities.

On security, the president said the Northwest had posed more challenges, while some success had been recorded in other regions such as the Northeast and South-South.

Buhari also admonished agitators in the South-South to stop vandalising national assets, an action which, he said, also affected their livelihoods.