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From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
The Federal Government has been called upon to attend to the demands of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to save university education in the country from collapse.
Abia State governorship aspirant in the 2023 election, Chief James Okereke Anyaogu, who made the call in a statement, said it has become necessary in order to arrest the flight of lecturers and Nigerian students to universities in the neighboring West African countries and other parts of the world.
Anyaogu was of the view that education was the pivot on which the wheels of socio-economic development of every nation revolved.
He added that, in the 21st century, every country strives to give its education sector top priority in budgeting and national planning, and thus Nigeria should not lag behind.
“Education is the pivot on which wheels of socio-economic development of every nation revolves. Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind in that direction in this 21st century,” he said.
The governorship aspirant bemoaned the frequent strikes by ASUU, which he said have been a recurring decimal in the Nigerian university system for decades now.
“Academic calendar has always been distorted and most courses that were scheduled to last four academic sessions now linger for up to six sessions, to the detriment of parents and students.”
He called on the two parties to the trade dispute to negotiate dispassionately and reach a truce quickly, to enable the students resume lectures immediately.
