Paul Orude, Bauchi
The Bishop of Bauchi/Gombe Catholic Diocese, Most Reverend Hilary Dachelem, has called on the federal government and the Academic Union of Universities (ASUU) to amicably resolve their areas of disagreement to allow public university students to return to school.
ASUU embarked on strike since March 2020 over lack of amicable agreement between it and the federal government on the implementation of the controversial Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS), consolidated earned allowances, visitation panels among other grey areas.
Several meetings between ASUU and the federal government’s negotiation team headed by the minister for Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, have failed even as public universities remain closed with students who are mostly youth at home for eight months as a result.
Reacting to the development in an interview with The Sun, Bishop Dachelem stated, “When there is such disparity, both ends must shift grounds. That is the aim of dialogue. The idea of dialogue is both must shift grounds. This is my view, this is where I stand and this is where you stand, okay now from my perspective I am very convinced this is it but I don’t have the totality of the truth because I am not perfect. You are not perfect from your own point of view”
The Bishop, who celebrated his 25 years as a priest recently, called on both ASUU and Federal Government to sit down and realistically look at their differences and areas of disagreement and settle for what is realisable.
“They must look at what is pragmatic, what is practicable, what is workable and then we shift grounds a little because when two elephants fights it is the grass that suffers,” he said.
Bishop Dachelem was sad that young Nigerians were suffering and are keeping them at home for months over breakdown of proper dialogue by the two parties.
“Some of the students are even the children of the negotiators. It does not help. Two wrongs don’t make a right so we should be a bit realistic. While government should be realistic in looking at the situation of the universities, also the universities should also know that the government is not just looking at only one sector. Government has multiple sectors and most schools in other parts of the world are private schools and most governments in other parts of the world do not invest in schools so the schools should be able to raise funds also. So let us understand all these things because these are the dynamics,” he said.