The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike has once again exposed the deep cracks in Nigeria’s educational system and the government’s long-standing neglect of its most vital sector - the education sector. Each time ASUU declares a strike, it is not merely an act of rebellion but a cry for attention to issues that have lingered for decades: poor funding, inadequate infrastructure, unpaid salaries, and broken promises from successive administrations.
For students, the strike means months, sometimes years, of academic stagnation. Young minds eager to learn are forced into idleness, while their counterparts in other nations move forward in their academic and professional pursuits. The result is a generation caught in uncertainty. A future is constantly delayed by a system that refuses to prioritize education.
The government, on its part, has often treated the demands from ASUU as a nuisance rather than a necessity. Meetings are held, agreements are signed, but implementation remains a mirage. Each cycle ends with temporary resolutions that barely scratch the surface of the real issues. The education of millions is reduced to bargaining chips in a recurring drama of promises and disappointments.
Sadly, it is these same ASUU members that the political class often use to write themselves into power through intellectual support, policy advice, and even direct involvement in political campaigns. More troubling is the fact that some politicians also use ASUU members during elections to manipulate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) results in their favour. It is a betrayal of trust and a distortion of the academic integrity that university lecturers should represent. After being used and discarded, they are left to fight for their rights from a government that never truly values their contribution.
Despite their genuine grievances, I would appeal to ASUU to consider the plight of our children. The students who have become innocent victims in this endless struggle. Let them shelve the strike and return to the classroom while continuing to dialogue with the government. The future of our nation depends on these young minds, and their education must not be sacrificed on the altar of political manipulation and failed promises.
If education is truly the key to national development, then the key is now rusting in the hands of those who should safeguard it. The ASUU strike should serve as a wake-up call not just for policymakers, but for every Nigerian who dreams of a nation where learning is valued, and where the classroom becomes a place of hope, not frustration.
As a call to national conscience, it is time for Nigeria to rise above this cycle of neglect and deception. The government must fulfill its promises with sincerity and invest meaningfully in education, while ASUU must restore its moral voice and place national interest above all else. The future of this country can not continue to be mortgaged by greed, politics, and indifference. Let us all - government, teachers, parents, and citizens - join hands to rebuild the broken walls of our educational system. For in saving education, we are not just saving schools. We are saving the soul of our nation.
Senator Ehigie Uzamere
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Opinion