Some Nigerians have expressed concern
over the decision of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to
suspend its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting planned to hold in
Kano on Wednesday indefinitely.
The union said in Kano on Wednesday that
it took the decision following the death of its former president, Prof.
Festus Iyayi, in a motor accident in Lokoja on Tuesday.
Iyayi was going for the NEC meeting at which the union was expected to decide on its nearly five-month-old strike.
Some parents and students, who spoke
with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said that the suspension
of the meeting might lead to further elongation of the strike by
university lecturers.
They described the death of Iyayi, who
was the Head of the Department of Business Administration, University of
Benin, as disheartening and devastating.
Mr Mike Odia, a parent, said that the
new development had dashed the hope of parents, students and
many
Nigerians for a resolution of the action.
”As a parent, I feel very worried about
this new development. Over four months down the line, we thought we are
getting to the end of the strike until this unfortunate accident that
claimed the professor’s life.
”We were happy when the president waded
in and made a promise to the ASUU national leaders and they said they
were going to study the offer; we thought this would have brought the
strike to an end.
”But with this development, they have suspended their NEC meeting and one is not sure if the end is in sight.
”We only hope and pray that goodwill
will prevail on the ASUU leadership to have a re-think while we
commiserate with the families of the late professor,” Odia said.
He called on the Federal Government to
see the unfortunate incident as an eye opener to fix the dilapidated
roads across the country.
He added that good governance was all about the people, saying that there had been too many deaths on the nation’s roads.
Another parent, Mr IIiya Kodo, told NAN that the loss of one of the union’s former presidents, Iyayi, was sad.
He said that it was a good decision by the union to call off their NEC meeting in order to mourn the death of their colleague.
Kodo said that Nigerians were on the same page with the union members on the mourning of the late unionist.
”We want to call on ASUU to have a change of mind towards the Federal Government’s new offer to them.
”Because the strike has lingered for so long and parents, students are not finding the present situation funny at all,’ he said.
He urged the union to be considerate in
spite of the fact that it was calling for improvement of facilities in
the nation’s universities.
Mrs Elizabeth Nwankwo, another parent,
said that the suspension of the meeting was expected after the loss of
an important personality in the ASUU leadership.
”I support that ASUU mourn their
colleague, because ASUU as they say, are united and the death of one of
their members is pain to all of them.
”But I will like to call on them to
ensure that they have their NEC after mourning their colleague and also
for them to immediately call off the strike because the government has
responded.
”We hope that ASUU this time around will consider the new terms on offer,’’ Nwankwo said
A student, Stella Adeyemi, said that she had expected that by next week she would be returning to the campus.
”I am very sad about this happening; I
am a final year student and we do not know what the fate of those of us
that are in public universities are at the moment.
”We pray that as ASUU members reflect on the loss of Iyayi, they should also reflect on the over four-month-old strike.
Another student, Ify Samuel, said that
it was sad that ASUU lost one of its strong members, adding that the
union was right in suspending the meeting.
She, however, called on the union to take immediate steps to call off the strike after the mourning period. (NAN)
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