The Catholic bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Kukah, has condemned the lingering strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASSU.
Kukah criticized stakeholders for the failure to address issues that have prolonged the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASSU, saying the strike has turned undergraduates into out-of-school children.
He said this on Wednesday in his address during the signing of the peace accord by governorship candidates in Osun.
The ongoing strike by ASUU, which was declared over the federal government’s failure to address the union’s demands on salaries and allowances of lecturers, as well as issues around the funding of universities, has been on for more than four months.
President Muhammadu Buhari had recently asked the union to take into account the plight of students and reconsider its stance on the strike, but ASUU had said the federal government needs to do its part to address the issues that led to the strike.
Describing the strike as a tragedy, Kukak said the endless strike which has kept undergraduates out of school for over four months would have negative impacts on Nigeria’s democracy.
The cleric said, “For us in Nigeria, the university students who count in millions can be classified as out-of-school children. This is unacceptable, especially as I said, that these things are happening in a democracy.
“Democracy has always given us an opportunity for negotiation, consensus, and so on. And it is a tragedy. The chairman of INEC is himself a professor; a lot of the election results are being announced by professors. It is, therefore, not acceptable that after so many months, our universities are still closed.
“We must understand that without the universities given opportunities for academic energy and analyses and theorizing, it’s impossible for our democracy to grow.
“So, the most important thing therefore for political actors — and I’m speaking not only for the people of Osun, but I’m also speaking to the political actors in Nigeria — that it is time for us to take our responsibilities sufficiently seriously.”
