By Hilary Akalugwu
Nsukka – An educationist, Mr David Ogbonna, has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to suspend its ongoing nationwide strike in the interest of students.
Ogbonna, who is the Proprietor of Sunshine Primary and Secondary School, Nsukka, Enugu State, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria ((NAN) on Thursday.
According to the proprietor, ASUU should consider the plight of the students whose academic future is hanging in the balance.
ASUU embarked on strike in November, 2018 to demand, among others, N1.1 trillion funding for universities.
“Some students have missed their graduation time, while others cannot be mobilised for National Youth Service Corps as a result of the ongoing nationwide strike.
“I plead with the union leadership and the Federal Government to resolve their disagreements to enable students to return to classes,” he said.
He said that students who secured admission since last year in various public universities were yet to begin first semester because of the strike.
“If this strike continues till April this year, what it means is that candidates who will write 2019 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, may not be admitted in public universities this year.
“ASUU and Federal Government should expedite action in their negotiations to end the ongoing strike, “he said.
The educationist noted that if the current strike continues till the forthcoming presidential and governorship elections, many students would be disfranchised because majority of them registered in their schools.
“Also, if the strike is not suspended before the elections, many students will be used as political thugs since an idle mind is said to be a devil’s workshop,” Ogbonna said.
