Why ASUU Strike May Outlive Buhari’s Govt

 By Adekunle Adekoya

I am filled with trepidation at the omens which seem to indicate that the on-going strike by the Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities, ASUU, might outlive the Buhari administration. I am worried, and I am sure that fellow compatriots, especially those who have children in federal universities, are equally worried that their personal timelines in terms of committing resources to the education of their children and wards might also have been negatively compromised, due to faults that are not their making.

*Buhari 

Earlier in the week, President Muhammadu Buhari verbally battled ASUU, accusing members of the union of aiding corruption in the universities. Our president used the occasion of an event, a summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector, jointly organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, and the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, JAMB, to fire the salvo. Let me quote Mr. President:

“Incessant strikes, especially by unions in the tertiary education, often imply that government is grossly under-funding education, but I must say that corruption in the education system from basic level to the tertiary level has been undermining our investment in the sector and those who go on prolonged strikes on flimsy reasons are no less complicit.

No Way Out Of Misery For Nigerians?

 By Adekunle Adekoya

“There is always more misery among the lower classes than there is humanity in the higher.”  — Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

As an individual, I ponder my situation and that of fellow country men and women and I simply shudder at what we have to endure on a daily basis as we claim to be citizens of Nigeria, under an elected president, legislature, and at the state level, governors.

On the micro-blogging platform, Twitter, yesterday were conversations ignited by a user who narrated his experience following an attack by traffic robbers in the Mile 2 area of Lagos. The thread of responses to his experience was long; I couldn’t read all, but I share in his travails and the trauma that attended his experience because I had fallen victim several times. As I write, I don’t know whether I will fall victim today, alongside my colleagues, because the nature of our duties dictates that we close late.

Do We Still Value Education In Nigeria?

 By Adekunle Adekoya 

Last Wednesday, the United Nations, UN, Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale, said that our dear country, Nigeria, is not on track to meet many SDGs (Strategic Development Goals) by the year 2030. Schmale said this in a speech at the opening ceremony of a three-day capacity building workshop for the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC’s educators on the UN Strategic Development Cooperation Framework, UNSDCF. 

Let me quote Schmale: “As it stands, Nigeria is not on track to reach many of its SDGs by 2030, a situation compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine. With women and youths hit, especially hard by growing unemployment, spiraling inflation, and insufficient access to quality education and health services, we must take a fresh look at how best to support the most vulnerable in society.”

One sector where we clearly will miss the SDG target date is education, prompting the question: Do we still value education in Nigeria? 

School Cults As IncubatorsOf Violence

 By Adekunle Adekoya

Trending heavily in the media- new, traditional and social- is the death of 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni, a student of Dowen College in Lekki, Lagos, last week, ostensibly from injuries sustained from beatings by a group of bullies, also students of the same school. Deaths are emotional occurrences for us humans, even when it is the death of an aged parent, talk less that of a teenager in whom much was being invested, with prospects of a bright life ahead.

In this instance, it is even more emotional, deeply troubling if you like, as it was revealed that the dead student had reported instances of bullying in the past, which elicited little or no reaction. The situation is worsened by the revelations of other parents, who suddenly started disclosing instances of bullying by their children, all after Oromoni’s death. Too little, too late.