By Ankeli Emmanuel (In Sokoto State)
Students of Sokoto State have appealed to staff of the State-owned University, the Sokoto State University, to urgently call off their solidarity strike action in the interest of the future of the state.
The student's body who agreed that the national body of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was right in embarking on the industrial action as a measure to push the federal government into complying with it's 2009 re-negotiated agreement, however added that the strike has had very negative impact on the economy, education, security and all other sectors of human endeavours in the country.
Addressing newsmen at the Sokoto state office of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Thursday, September 15, 2022, the President of Sokoto student's leaders forum, Comrade Alkasim Isah Garba, noted that the federal government should urgently address the lingering crisis in the Universities so as to forestall total collapse of the country's education sector.
In their plea to the Sokoto State University chapter of ASUU, Comrade Alkasim, reminded them that they are not been owed hence the need to return to classes.
"Here in Sokoto State, His Excellency, Rt Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has made several pronouncements on why the Sokoto State University chapter of the Union should see reason and return back to classes as his government have no labour dispute with ASUU.
"And the National strike action declared by ASUU from records available to us, Sokoto State Government has approved salaries and allowances for all categories of employees, not only State University, but all tertiary institutions in the state.
"We therefore see no justification for ASUU continuation with strike embarked on by the ASUU national body. It can be clearly seen from legal action entered between the federal government and ASUU before the national industrial court that State Universities did not join in the suit which clearly proved that they have no business with ASUU strike. Sympathy strike should not be indefinite", Alkasim said.
Talking about the consequences of the on-going ASUU strike, Comrade Alkasim listed aggravated insecurity, economic hardship, destruction of education facilities, increased drug addiction, etc, as factors making the idle youths willing tools for negative exploitation. NNL.
