ASUU Strike Call-off Excites Ajadi, Urges Students to Brace Up

Mary Nnah

The gubernatorial candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) in Ogun State, Olufemi Ajadi Oguntoyinbo, has expressed excitement over the call-off of the strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU), describing it as a welcome development.

Ajadi who spoke during a familiarisation tour of Ogun neighbourhoods, noted that​ there couldn’t have been a more refreshing piece of information than the call-off of the ASUU strike.

He recalled his appeals to the government and union at the commencement of the strike to find an amicable solution to the grievances of the lecturers, saying that he was happy now that the strike had been called off.

​ “I am excited that the strike has been called off. You could imagine how much we would have lost in these past eight months or thereabout, so to me, it is a welcome development.”

Ajadi also advised the federal government, through its agencies to ensure the terms of the agreement were adhered to, and that​ the lecturers should do their best in ensuring that there no further break in the academic calendar.

“It is painful to see students spending one, two, three more years for a course they should be doing within due time. The side effects can never be quantified.

“This calls for a more proactive approach in teaching these students who must have become rusty staying at home.”

He said aside from drastically affecting the career plans of students, that strikes usually exerted more pressure on parents and guardians, who have to cater for their wards, and also worry more for their safety and well-being​ when not in school.

According to him, the issue of increasing involvement of youths in crime, was traceable to constant breaks in the academic calendar, amongst others, and no responsible government should allow that to happen.

Referencing the proverb that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, he said, youths are much more vulnerable to negative tendencies when idle, and that this was worsened by peer pressure, against the background of the challenging economy.

Ajadi recalled the past, whereby agreements leading to the call-off of similar strikes had been breached, while​ advising the students to redouble their efforts towards ensuring that they regained lost grounds,

“It is a cardinal belief of the NNPP that the education and future of our youths should not be toyed with. We are all familiar with the saying that the youths are the future of tomorrow, and I believe that governments at all levels should align with the saying by implementing youth-oriented programmes.

“That is why also, the NNPP is prioritis
ing youths, women and children in its manifesto. Part of our programme is to take adequate care of this category of people, once coming into power”, Ajadi stated.​