The Trade Union Congress has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration over the lingering strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU), which has paralysed the country’s public universities since February 2022.
The TUC Chairman in Kogi State, Ranti Ojo, during an interview with Daily Post on Saturday, said President Buhari’s body language to the ongoing strike showed that his administration had no plan for the future of Nigerian youths.
He lamented the continuous crisis rocking the nation’s educational sector, noting that the students were always at the receiving end whenever organised unions embarked on a strike action.
He recalled that the crisis between ASUU and the Federal Government could be traced far back to 2009 when the latter reneged on the agreement it had with the union leaders.
Ojo, however, warned that the Federal Government should do something urgently to avert any breakdown of law and order across the country, stressing that a repeat of the #EndSARS protest may likely reoccur as students are already running out of patience with their leaders.
“We have many students that are supposed to be in the National Youths Service Corps but now, they are roaming around the streets because of the ongoing strike. Our children are now turning themselves into something else. Immorality, robbery, insecurity and many more are now the order of day.
“The government is feeling less concerned because most of their children are not schooling in this country. With what is on the ground, the present administration has no plan for our education or the future of our youths.
“The political class has failed us because their children are not in the country as they are all abroad. Something urgent must be done to avoid any crisis in Nigeria. The education sector must be given priority.
“Look at the money they budget for our parliamentarians. Can you imagine, a political appointee bought a nomination form for N100million? Where did he get the money to do that? This is the Minister for State for Education. For me, the political class has failed us, not only in the educational sector, but in all ramifications,” he lamented.
