Follow Us on Google
From Lateef Dada, Osogbo
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar and Wale Babalakin SAN, on Wednesday, decried the incessant strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), noting that it is having a bad effect on the education of the students.
They noted that philanthropists should support the funding of tertiary institutions, saying that the government can not singlehandedly fund tertiary institutions.
They spoke at Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun state, during the commissioning of the Bola Babalakin guest house donated by the family of the late retired justice of the Supreme Court to the institution.
According to Babalakin, “for any discerning person in the education sector, it is very clear that government at all levels, as structured today, cannot singlehandedly fund education.
He said, “the resources required to fund a proper education system are simply not there or are not easily available, adding “for this reason, educational institutions especially tertiary institutions must continue to find ways of generating revenue from sources that will not detract from their primary
the goal of providing a very good education for the students.”
He said the guest house donated by his family will provide accommodation for visiting scholars and friends of the University and also generate income for the University.
Speaking, the Sultan of Sokoto maintained that going on strike is not the best solution to the problem of education saying that negotiation should be employed in settling matters instead of subjecting students to the ‘psychological and emotional trauma’ they have undergone in the last eight months.
“We just came out of an unfortunate ASUU crisis. I believe we have come out of it. Our children were at home for 8 months, very sad and frustrating. But these are things that we could have avoided by continuously talking. The best thing is that anytime there is a problem, you sit down and discuss it to find a way out.
“The government can not fund all educational issues. People should come out and help to fund public institutions so that we can have a better situation in our schools, especially our tertiary institutions,” Sultan added.
The governor of Osun, Adegboyega Oyetola, commended Babalakin’s family for their contributions to the education and well-being of humanity, promising that his government will not relent in providing enabling environment for private institutions to thrive.
He advised the beneficiaries of the project to ensure prompt and adequate maintenance of the facility, such that it would attract other donors to want to do more.
Dignitaries at the occasion include Yusuf Ali SAN, JAMB Registrar, Prof Isiaq Oloyede, deputy governor, Benedict Alabi, Justice Aderibigbe Adeigbe (Rtd), among others.
