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ASUU will continue strike, but is it ethical?
And then ASUU informs that it would not suspend its strike despite the payment of salaries hitherto withheld by the federal government.
ASUU insists that the federal government is not doing it any favour as its members were entitled to the salaries in the first place.
In fact, it now claims the “strike is not just about IPPIS.” ASUU had always claimed its strike was intent on voicing out the many ills in the education sector and rightly so. Until IPPIS happened.
Let’s answer for some unaccounted variables. The 2020 ASUU strike was all about IPPIS, as opposed to what the association said.
Anyone with half their eyes open could see what was apparent. Complaint about the inability of the government to stick to the memorandum of understanding agreed upon in 2009 was conspicuously a little detail pushed out to put the association’s grumbling in good light.
ASUU’s ill-feeling towards IPPIS is summarized in two words: University autonomy. Their contention is that IPPIS infringes on the independence of the university.
But a look at things suggest that the university was hardly ever autonomous. And if it was, can it be autonomous of whoever sponsors it? Any such thing as university autonomy will only thrive in a self-sufficient model. Most federal universities can’t survive without government’s funding.
And there is the recent grumbling that the federal government asked to revalidate the Bank Verification Number of lecturers.
ASUU questioned the sudden change because “members weren’t paid with BVN in the past.” One is confused. What exactly does ASUU want? I say “pick your struggle!”
ASUU would then instruct its members not to submit their BVN. What exactly is wrong in paying through a scheme that promotes transparency? Or what exactly is ASUU’s argument? The association seems to be shooting its position in the leg lately.
This may provoke a change in dynamics as the masses, even more students, begin to reckon with ASUU as a conglomerate of greedy lecturers. Maybe true, maybe not.
Speaking of change in dynamics, the pandemic threatens to tilt the balance of power to the federal government.
There is the question of whether it is thoughtful of ASUU to persist with the strike beyond the pandemic, knowing fully well the impact of the pandemic on the country’s mental state.
There is also a call for rationality. It is laughable that ASUU expects the government to keep to an MoU when its major stream of income has plummeted by more than 50%.
A barrel of oil no longer sells for the budgeted $57. At the genesis of the strike, it was already foretold that oil would drop to $37 in the second quarter —a depressing prediction for Nigeria’s surviving economy.
A barrel of oil went as low as under $20 few weeks back and there are no signs to suggest that it would appreciate to $57 before the year ends.
It is about time we coloured the sketches. This government is no saint either—that much needs be said. The figures directed to the unreasonable establishment of “tatashe” universities in 2018 could easily have been used to raise the standards of existing federal universities, and more importantly, pacify ASUU’s grumblings.
The government also happen to prioritise inconsequential projects like renovation of the senate complex. Not to mention, the insane figures pocketed by government officials.
When two elephants fight, the grass suffers. The government and ASUU are playing delay tactics and politics with innocent students’ future.
The calendar has been disjointed by the pandemic. Students can’t absorb any further damage from an association that claims to be committed to their interest.
ASUU will continue its strike, but is it ethical? Is it right to speak with a tone that suggest it is unwilling to agree to any compromise?
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Update : Road Crash: Anthony Joshua Hospitalised, Two Confirmed Dead — Ogun Police Spokesperson
Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been hospitalised after a road accident in the Makun area of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State.
Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, Babaseyi Oluseyi, confirmed this in a statement.
The incident occurred shortly after 11 am on Monday.
Our reporter, who was at the scene, said the crash happened just before the Danco Filling Station in Makun, ahead of the Sagamu Interchange on the Ibadan-bound axis.
Adeniyi Orojo stated that the Lexus Jeep carrying Joshua, with number plate KRD 850 HN, collided with a stationary truck.
The eyewitness revealed that Joshua sustained minor injuries, while two others died at the scene.
“It was a two-vehicle convoy: a Lexus SUV and a Pajero SUV. Joshua was seated behind the driver, with another person beside him. A passenger sat beside the driver, making four occupants in the Lexus that crashed.
His security detail followed in the vehicle behind.
“Other eyewitnesses and I began the rescue and flagged down oncoming vehicles for help. Minutes after the crash, Federal Road Safety Corps officials arrived. The passenger beside the driver and the person beside Joshua died on the spot,” he said.
In a statement sent to Newsthumb on Monday, Oluseyi confirmed that Joshua and other injured persons were involved in a car accident and rushed to an undisclosed hospital.
He said, “The Ogun State Police Command confirms a road accident today in front of Sinoma, before Danco, along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway. Anthony Joshua and other injured persons have been rushed to the hospital.
“Further updates will be communicated.”
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu departed Lagos on Sunday, December 28, for Europe, continuing his end-of-year break and ahead of his official trip to Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed AlNahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, has invited President Tinubu to participate in the 2026 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2026) Summit, which will take place in the emirate early in January.
The weeklong summit is an annual event that mobilises leaders from government, business, and society to chart the next era of sustainable development.
With the theme “The Nexus of Next: All Systems Go”, ADSW will connect ambition with action across innovation, finance, and people, showcasing how the world can move forward with confidence.’
The President will return to the country after the Summit.
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BREAKING: Fayose Alleges N45.5bn from N50bn Ibadan Explosion Fund Diverted by Makinde for Political Ambitions
Former Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose, has released what he described as documentary evidence to support his claim that Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, received N50 billion from the Federal Government as a special intervention fund following the January 2024 explosion in Ibadan.
Fayose made the documents public on Sunday in a statement accompanied by a memo from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
He said the disclosure followed a challenge by Makinde to substantiate his earlier claim that the Oyo State Government received the funds.
“Two days ago, I stated on national television that Oyo State under Governor Seyi Makinde received N50bn from the Federal Government as intervention for the Ibadan explosion. Yesterday, the governor asked me to provide evidence, and here is the evidence he requested,” Fayose said.
The former governor further alleged that only N4.5 billion was disbursed to victims of the explosion, accusing Makinde of diverting the remaining funds for personal political ambitions.
“Only N4.5bn was paid to victims of the Ibadan explosion. The rest, alongside other intervention funds, was diverted to fund his presidential ambition. This, in part, explains the crisis in the PDP and his frequent attacks on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his administration,” he alleged.
Fayose further said he was compelled to release official documents, despite his reluctance to do so, in the interest of transparency and public accountability.
“Even though it is not in my character to go public with official government documents, I had to do this so Nigerians will know who is saying the truth and who has not been sincere with the people of Oyo State,” he said.
The former governor said that Makinde’s alleged disclosure of detail from private meeting with President Tinubu made fuller public disclosure necessary.
He challenged the governor to take legal action if he believed the allegations were false, insisting that he had sufficient proof to defend his claims.
“I challenge Governor Seyi Makinde to sue me on this. There are also proofs of other intervention funds received from Tinubu’s administration by the Oyo State Government which the governor refused to disclose to the people,” he said.
He further claimed to have documentary evidence of Oyo State’s actual Internally Generated Revenue, contrary to figures publicly stated by Makinde, noting that he would release the details at a later time.
“There are documentary evidences on the actual Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Oyo State, as against Governor Makinde’s claim, but we will keep our gunpowder dry for now.
“My name is still Ayo Fayose. I don’t say what I can’t prove,” he said.
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