Academic Staff Union of Universities President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, on Wednesday called on Nigerian students not to vote for politicians who would care about their interests and whose children are studying in institutions abroad.
He made the call during a Twitter Space Webinar organised by Premium Times and tagged ‘ASUU strike, Revitalisation Fund and the Way Forward.’
According to Osodeke, one of the ways forward on the lingering strike is for Nigerian students to ensure they never cast their votes for candidates who would not represent their interests, and candidates living abroad.
A popular EndSARS activist, Rinu Oduala, had asked Osodeke to tell Nigerian students what they should do amid the lingering ASUU strike.
In his response, the ASUU president said, “Anybody you believe cannot take care of your interests, whose children are busy studying abroad, who are living abroad, don’t vote for them, I repeat, you don’t need to vote for them because you don’t vote for people who will take your life.”
Osodeke also used the opportunity to condemn a recent comment by the Ebonyi State Governor and Chairman of South-East Governors’ Forum, David Umahi, that university education was not for everybody.
Umahi was quoted to have said that it was unreasonable for the Federal Government to borrow over N1 trillion to meet the demands of ASUU.
Osodeke said, “Education is about life. A governor was saying education is not for everybody and then we saw his son graduating outside (abroad) with governors around. I will repeat it, the Nigerian students should hold their PVC. Anybody who will not look at their interests, who, in his campaign, will not show that he’s going to improve the Nigerian educational system, they should vote them out.”
The academic union embarked on strike on February 24, 2022. Several meetings between them and the Muhammadu Buhari-led government have failed to yield any meaningful full result and public universities across the country have remained shut for the past six months.