ASUU Strike: Comply with lecturers' demands, Parents beg FG

It's been two months since the Academic Staff
Union of Universities embarked on a nationwide
indefinite strike.This was as a result of the
inability of the Federal Government to implement
some of the issues contained in a 2009 agreement
it had with ASUU. Recently Saturday Vanguard
spoke with parents whose children are affected as
they begged the government to reach a
compromise with ASUU .
Government not feeling the strike because their
children are in private universities- Ohwaguono
Onos
Mr. Ohwaguono Onos, a parent and a post
graduate student of University of Lagos( UNILAG),
who was affected by the strike has this to say.
"The ASUU strike has made my children shift focus
to other things that are costing me additional
funds I didn't budget for. And parents who cannot
engage their wards in these suffer distress and
heart-aches because of the nuisance the students
constitute at home. One thing I have learnt is that
after each episode of strike, the students are no
more focused even when they resume lectures
because they have been out for so long. ASUU
went on strike because they want the govenrment
to come to their plight and help them.
"If the Senators can have sitting and sleeping
allowances, then the builders of these characters
should be considered; they are the lecturers. My
only pain is that these ones in government are
not feeling it because their own children are not
in the Federal and State universities. Their
children are abroad schooling, their children are
in private universities. Most of the people in
sensitive government positions are the owners of
most private Universities which are funded by our
own money. How can the strike affect the
government? Our plea is for the government to
listen to the masses, listen to ASUU and help
them; that way they are helping us and saving the
future.
Federal government should meet the demands of
the lecturers -Oluranti Olushola
Mrs Oluranti Olushola, a teacher who said her
son was affected by the strike pleaded that the
Federal Government should help them so their
children can go back to school."I am seriously
appealing to the Federal Government, on behalf
of Nigerian parents, to end the strike and make
education a top priority and also save the
education sector from imminent collapse."
She noted that the government voluntarily
entered into an agreement with the union in 2009
to fund universities better and meet some other
demands of the union. "The Federal Government
must at all costs meet the demands of the union
to save the future of our children," she said.
Government should avoid workers' strike -Mrs
Ruquiyat Adebayo
Another teacher, Mrs Ruquiyat Adebayo disclosed
that that ASUU's demands were genuine.She
urged the government to make any sacrifice to
improve the education sector.Mrs Adebayo also
advised the government to avoid workers' strike
by meeting their demands early."ASUU is not
asking for too much. It's demands are justified.
We have the resources in this country, and we
must set our priorities right. Education must
come first in all our plans."Whatever it will take,
Nigeria must improve the welfare of the University
teachers," she said.
Governmet should resolve the conflict with ASUU-
Moturayo Madandola
Mrs Moturayo Madandola whose child was
affected by the strike said government should
resolve the conflict with ASUU quickly to save the
University system from collapse."The Federal
Government should accede to the demands of the
striking union so that our children can go back to
school," she said.
Government should be considerate -Malik Alabi
Malik Alabi, a businessman expressed his feelings
with anger saying, "don't mind those people in
government , all their children are schooling
abroad. How would they remember us? They only
plan to travel to Dubai for vacation, travel out of
the country for medical check up, send their
children to Harvard and all the good schools
abroad. These people should also consider the
parents who suffer to pay school fees for our
children . I have two children at OAU and they are
both at home doing nothing and it pains me a
lot . My only plea is that Federal Government
should help us because the parents are the ones
suffering it more".
Four -year course is running six years because of
the strike–Deaconess Joy Osewengie
Deaconness Mrs. Joy Osewengie, a mother of two
students in the University of Benin (UNIBEN)
expressed her concern saying, "The ASUU strike
has turned into something else; my children are
not doing anything at home. Courses that are
supposed to run for four years are now running
six years and above. When will the children finish
their programmes in the Universities and become
very useful to their family and the society?
"The government should know that an idle mind
is the devil's workshop. We should bear in mind
that these ones are the future of this great nation
and if they are half baked because of strike and
crisis, then we may end up with a very sick
nation."