VCs, students seek end to teachers' strike

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of
Ilorin, Prof. Abdulganiyu Ambali, and his
Kwara State University counterpart, Prof.
AbdulRasheed Na'Allah, have called for
an end to the strike embarked upon by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities.
They also urged the Federal Government
and ASUU to reach quickly a compromise
in the interest of country's education and
the students.
Interestingly, teachers of the two schools
are not on strike.
Ambali said, "The two parties should
discuss and bridge the gap between
them. When two people are fighting,
nobody will have absolute right. Nobody
will be 100 per cent right. If you look at
the two parties, there will be lapses in
their actions.
"I just appeal to the parties to fill the gap,
understand each other. Life is give and
take. They should please come to an
agreement very soon so that students will
continue their studies."
Na'Allah, who spoke on the sidelines of
the establishment of the KWASU School of
Business and Governance, frowned at the
prolonged strike.
He noted that universities have symbiotic
relationship, adding that they need
collaboration to solve the country's many
problems.
He said, "In fact, we cannot over-
emphasise how concerned KWASU is.
KWASU is not in isolation. KWASU is a
university in Nigeria and there is no way
one university can succeed when others
are on strike. So, KWASU is concerned.
"As a vice-chancellor, it is not for me to
say that one person is at fault. We are all
at fault. I think we have all failed Nigeria -
the government and the people, especially
those of us in the academia. We've not
really explored enough.
"Government provides the facilities that
are needed and as academics, we work,
together to strengthen and ensure that we
have universities that are world-class;
that are relevant to the government of this
nation."
He added that the FG and ASUU must
work together to return the universities to
centres of excellence. According to him,
when the University of Ibadan, University
of Ife, Ahmadu Bello University and the
others started, they were excellent
institutions. "Unfortunately today the
story is not the same," he said.
Meanwhile, Oluwatobi Akinolu, a student
of English Education at UNILORIN, also
decried the frequent strike in the country.
He said, "FG should do something about
ASUU's demands. I heard that the
government has made some offers.
Maybe they are not sufficient for ASUU.
But I appeal to ASUU to work with FG to
resolve the issue."
A second year Computer Science,
KWASU, Saka Kamil, who accused the
government of neglecting the sector, said
he was unhappy that his colleagues in
other universities were idling away at
home.
He said, "The way the government is
wasting money and owing lecturers is not
good. These lecturers have families and
responsibilities and they need to cater for
them."
According to a KWASU third year Mass
Communication student, John Klutse, it is
always sad for him to see his colleagues
at home because of strikes.
He said, "Some of them who dream to
come out tops may not achieve it
because the strike is affecting their
performance. FG and ASUU should reach
a compromise. ASUU should also
consider the interest of the affected
students."