_For the other States, the Governors should emulate GYB, they should move to save the future of Nigerian students_
It is no longer news that the Federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have been at loggerhead for some weeks and the ASUU committee declared a warning strike of four weeks.
This is so sad considering how these activities lingers the academic sojourn of students across the nation, save from those in private institutions only.
All State and Federal Universities in the country are caught in the web of this strike action. Sadly, where two elephants fight, it’s the grass that bears the brunt; our students are in for unwilling academic disruption again despite that the two parties are aware of the rate of ritual killings at the moment. It’s not a good time for this kind of break in academic calendar.
However, despite the hullabaloo at every corner, Kogi State is very calm and it is as a result of the action of our distinguished and eagle-eyed leader whose foresight we couldn’t comprehend until it began to yield. Recall that years back, the Governor out of sheer sympathy proscribed the activities of ASUU across the State’s institutions because of the students whose academic journey was delayed unecessarily for political and selfish reasons.
It is no hype when we label Governor Yahaya Bello as a leader with foresight. He made it happen and for the past five years and even as we speak now, students of all Kogi State owned institutions are in class receiving lectures while other schools suffer of this reoccurring menace.
His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello deserves more than applause and accolades for this single feat which ensured that the academic calendar is no longer disrupted and students are no longer delayed in school anymore. That is, when it was necessary, he made it possible for all state institutions to pull out of ASUU just for reasons of ensuring that students have a smooth ride without interrupting the years they are originally meant to spend on campus.
Of importance too, it’s worth noting that the education and students’ friendly Governor Yahaya Bello have richly restructured education in Kogi; from Elementary to Basic and up to the tertiary levels. He touched down to infrastructure development across all campuses in the State. The evidences are glaring; from State University, Polytechnic, the State’s Technology University, Colleges of Education, Nursing and health schools. Undoubtedly, Governor Bello deserves nothing short of a higher calling to display such leadership dexterity on a bigger platform.
For the other States, the Governors should move to save the future of Nigerian students immediately as we do not know how long the strike action would take. The government should be proactive in meeting the necessary and meetable needs of the union to avoid incidents of the past.
Rachael Mojirola Balogun
National President,
National Association Of Kogi State Students (NAKOSS NATIONAL)… Continue reading