Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
In a bid to end the industrial action embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) eight months ago, senior citizens under the banner of the Association of Nigeria Universities Alumni (ANUA) are set to broker peace between the union and the Federal Government.
The newly elected chairman of the group, Dr Stephen Fasakin, who made this known in a statement he issued in Ibadan on Monday.
According to him, “One major area where universities growth has suffered is the area of universities and alumni associations’ collaboration. We shall not close our eyes to that. On that note, we shall take a bold step on resolving this current conflict between the government and ASUU so that universities would resume work.”
Fasakin stated that the group has also resolved to ensure all unemployed graduates in Nigeria are registered towards having social security allowance for the unemployed graduates from the Federal Government.
His words: “Under my watch, in earnest, we shall embark on the creation of a website where every unemployed graduate shall be registered. We shall doggedly pursue a bill for the payment of social security allowance for the unemployed graduates to be taken by the National Assembly.
“Under my watch, we shall encourage Nigerian graduates to be more interested in politics so that we can salvage this country from the greedy officeholders. The graduates must take over the position of leadership and responsibilities. We shall facilitate a better serving condition for corps members.
Fasakin also enjoined every member of the association to be committed to the ANUA, saying the association would also be committed to them, adding: “Under my watch, our inter- and intra- actions shall be mutual and beneficial. When one of us is happy, all of us shall share in it, or when one of us is unhappy, all of shall be there for him too.
He further promised that he would ensure resuscitation of the association’s website; “under my watch, the Executive Committee shall embark on immediate functionality of our old website to improve on our communication range for our present members and the yet-to-be. Under my watch, it shall remain for optimum effective delivery of every good thing beneficial to university graduates in Nigeria.”