The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso has been shut for six months now as a result of a strike embarked upon by staff of the university of the failure of the authorities to pay their salaries. Staff, under the aegis of ASUU, NASU and SSANU, downed their tools after being owed salaries.
Payment of salaries is jointly undertaken by both the Oyo and Osun State government. This is because Oyo and Osun state were under the old Oyo state from which Osun was excised. Both state governments have an agreement to jointly shoulder the financing of the institution.
It is unfair that students have spent six months now at home because of the failure of the Oyo and Osun state governments to live up to their fiscal responsibilities due to the university. It seems that the Osun state government is more lackadaisical to the plight of the students as it released 30 million out of the 3.8 billion it owes to the university. This is in contrast to the 500 million released by the Oyo state government to the university. Both state governments should understand that education is a vital part of development and they cannot continue to turn a blind eye to the evident problems that their inactions have caused.The students have understandably been frustrated by the unresolved issues and the failure to reopen their university. To this end, they embarked on a protest on the 8th of December to press home their demand which is for their university to be reopened. What followed was nothing less than alarming and horrifying. The police was called to end the protest and opened fire on the aggrieved students. was also used indiscriminately. Videos emerged on social media of students running away from gunshots fired by the police. There were also reports that the Nigerian Army was involved in ending the protest.
The actions of the police are unnecessary and aggravating. To call the police to disrupt a peaceful protest is infringing on the rights of the students to assemble peacefully. They have a right to let the governments of both Oyo and Osun know that they are tired of staying at home for no fault of theirs. They have a right to let the state governments know that they are with their future by not living up to their responsibilities. The governments should not send the police and even the army against students who just want to attend lectures and graduate to become responsible members of the society. This is surely not too much to ask. Education in Nigeria is in dire straits. The quality of education has gradually depleted over the years and the government in both the federal and state levels are to blame.
Poor funding is a problem and federal and state universities have severely suffered from a lack of funding. This means that salaries and allowances are paid late or not even paid at all. Facilities and teaching materials are in bad shape or even non-existent. It is past time that education is taken seriously in Nigeria.
Nigeria needs to catch up with the rest of the countries of the world that take education seriously. A perfect example of the government’s lackadaisical approach to education is the failure of any Nigerian university to make the top 1000 in the Times Higher Education rankings save for the University of Ibadan. No Nigerian university is in the top ten list of best universities in Africa. For a country who prides herself as the giant of Africa, this is shameful and embarrassing.
It is time that Nigeria invests in the future of its young people by providing quality and adequate education for them. Nigeria cannot afford to fail in this regard. An educated populace is an invaluable asset to a nation. A nation without one is a nation not prepared for the future.
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