The Academic Staff Union Of Universities (ASUU) had earlier vowed not to renegotiate with the federal government of Nigeria after their last meeting. ASUU had earlier demanded from FG the sum of N1 Trillion which the government felt was an outrageous amount and insisted that they do not have such funds to meet ASUU’s demand. The federal government through its minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige stated that the revitalization fund being demanded by ASUU was a promise made to them by the administration of former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan when the country’s finances were stable.
The Labour minister stated that the current Buhari administration had informed ASUU of its inability to honor the previous revitalization fund agreement, adding that the federal government promised to explore other options to fund universities. But with the recent discovery of President Buhari’s donation to Afghanistan, ASUU in its tweet had this to say; “President Muhammadu Buhari has today donated to ease the humanitarian situation and to help in catering for the needs of the millions of Afghan people, including women and children, meanwhile ASUU is on strike”.
Meanwhile, on the other hand, ASUU has vowed not to renegotiate, saying the federal government is not willing to pay outstanding funds. This further discovery will make them hell-bent on standing their ground as regards their decision of non-negotiation.
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The secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Hissein Brahim Taha, was reported to have in a statement, revealed that President Muhammadu Buhari donated the money over the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. He further disclosed that the donation comes in time and adds new momentum to OIC’s effort to contribute to easing the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan.
It is often said that “charity begins at home”, but this is not the case of President Buhari who has chosen to be philanthropic to aid Afghanistan while federal universities in the country are on strike. This is nothing but a misplaced priority. I am indeed perplexed at how Nigeria, a nation that constantly borrows, donated such an amount while the country has so many pressing internal crises that need urgent attention. This just shows you how much value the President has for the nation. Mind you, I am not in any way against the country offering a helping hand to countries or agencies in need, but not when the whole country is ravaged with so many things that need urgent funds and attention.
It is disheartening to know that there are lots of refugees living in Idp camps in the country that are not well catered for. Hundreds and thousands of them are living in deplorable conditions after being displaced by Boko haram and Fulani herdsmen. Millions of Nigerians continue to live in poverty, there is a constant internal security crisis, yet the president chose to overlook these areas.
Permit me to digress a bit, from my research, members of the OIC are majorly Islamic nations, and it is indeed confusing that Nigeria is part of the cooperation, yet it is not a core Islamic country. Human Rights writers association of Nigeria (Huriwa) have in the past stated that it was illegal and unconstitutional for President Buhari to attend a summit exclusively planned for Islamic nations.
They further issued a statement stating that it is contradictory that Nigeria whose grundnorm in section 10 of the Constitution specifically prohibits Nigeria from doing things that promote one religion as a state religion thereby disobeying the Constitution.
It remains illegal and unconstitutional for Nigeria as a secular and multi-religious geopolitical entity to maintain such a membership relationship with a religious body.
