The ASUU strike which began on February 14, 2022, which makes it up to seven (7) months now, continues to linger on with no end in sight. Despite several meetings, consultations, pleas, interventions, and FG-ASUU negotiations to call off the strike, all have yielded no positive result.
No doubt, the lingering strike embarked upon by ASUU has not only dealt with and shattered the dreams of affected students, it has also infuriated parents whose children are affected.
Recall that the minister of state for labor and employment, Festus Keyamo when asked in an interview what message he has for parents whose children are affected by the ASUU strike. Keyamo disclosed that he would urge parents to appeal to ASUU to Call off the strike.
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In his words;
“I will say to them, they have heard me and seen the true picture. We are putting our cards on the table face up. ASUU’s proposal is N1.2 trillion, meanwhile, even their former N412 billion that we are paying was even 50% of the total wage structure of the federal government that ASUU was taking alone before, and they are saying N1.2 trillion. I will tell parents and everybody to go and beg ASUU. Like the president said the other time, those who know them should appeal to their sense of patriotism”.
Following Minister Keyamo’s plea to parents to beg ASUU, parents on the platform of the National Parents Teachers Association Of Nigeria, NAPTAN replied that they won’t beg ASUU except on one condition.
They disclosed that they can only beg members of the Academic Staff Union Of Universities, ASUU to call off the strike if the government considers the reports of the various committees set up to look into the matter and come out with its decision. The union further disclosed that it expects the federal government to come out publicly with its offers for them to know how to intervene and mediate between the two sides.
However, comments by NAPTAN seems to have fallen on the deaf ears of the federal government, as they have decided to make a U-turn, as the association has sought audience with the federal government over the lingering strike action by ASUU.
The association is proposing the sum of 10,000 Naira levy per session, per parent to support the federal government in making available more funds to be paid to ASUU in order for the strike to be called off. NAPTAN public relations officer, Dr. Ademola Ekundayo, during an interview disclosed that the sum of N10,000 per parent was the union’s contribution to support the federal government to make more funds available to the universities as the association has been at the receiving end.
See what the public relations officer of NAPTAN said;
“We have submitted a letter to the Office of the Education Minister, seeking for audience where we hope to discuss a proposal. We are proposing a sum of N10, 000 per parent every session that will be directly paid to the universities.
“That will be our own contribution apart from other statutory payments in making more funds available to the universities. It can be called parent support levy for universities. We are at the receiving end of the industrial action. We plead with the ASUU and Federal Government to immediately resolve their differences.”
Hopefully, this gesture by the National Parents Association Of Nigeria, NAPTAN will help to make more funds available to the FG, for them to meet the demands of ASUU that will lead to the eventual calling off of the strike action.
However, it remains absurd that parents whose children are affected by the ASUU strike, will have to step in to support the FG with funds, meanwhile, the federal government can meet the demands of ASUU even without borrowing as claimed by ASUU’s president Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke.