Kabiru Danladi Lawanti

In my life, I experienced about five strike actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). I lost almost four years of my academic life to ASUU strikes, from my diploma to undergraduate studies. I also had experiences during my master’s degree and now PhD programmes and I believe the person reading this also has his own share of experience of the altercations between the Federal Government of Nigeria and ASUU from 1980s to 2020.  There is no need therefore, to over labour over the pains strikes put on students or their parents of the over three decades’ crises in the public university system. It is also irrelevant to continue repeating the way, in these three decades that government reneged on agreements it signed with the union. The present strike, which came at a time the world is facing the novel coronavirus pandemic, is seen by some people as insensitive on the part of ASUU, and therefore they deserve no pity, (as if they enjoyed that pity in their previous enga...

All over the world, the university is regarded as a centre of learning. It is a place for advancement of knowledge through research and teaching. The university serves as a place where elite are trained, who can eventually become the managers of the society and these individuals trained, ensure the ultimate good, well-being and development of the society in which they live. However, in Nigeria regrettably, the university system has been turned into a direct opposite. The system has been enmeshed in a series of crises since early 1980s to the present day from funding to students unrest and Academic and non-academic staff strikes. The crises in 80s and 90s were under military dictatorship and started with the issue of improve allowances and salary for staff to issue of funding the system to the University autonomy. Specifically in 1988 the union crises and confrontation reached its peak and they organized a National Strike to obtain fair wages and university autonomy. As a result,...

The Nigerian government was a signatory to the Jomtien Conference, 20 years ago, where from March 5 to 9, 1990 participants from all over the world met to come with solutions to provide quality education to over 100 million children, including at least 60 million girls, who have no access to primary schooling. Education for All (EFA) programme by 2015 was born. Governments made commitments to be part of the programme. In Nigeria, policies were put in place to achieve the stated goal which includes the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme, in order to check the problem of dwindling enrolment in primary and secondary schooling and educational deterioration generally in the country. Earlier, the UPE scheme was instituted by the military government in 1976 to develop the educational capacity of illiterate Nigerians. The scheme was not as effective as expected though more people were able go to school, read and write their names and become better informed as a result of the scheme. The Un...

Nothing is more disturbing or is it disgusting? in Nigeria than one to take upon himself the responsibility of speaking for the oppressed. Yourself a victim, but since you are more privileged than the rest of Nigerians, you took it upon yourself to serve as a middle man between the government and the governed. You do this with a strong conviction that one day, this country - our great country, will be great and indeed a country where our leaders will be incorruptible, credible and honest, the countrymen organised, orderly who respect one another and live peacefully. Sometimes in July I wrote a letter to this forum discussing the issue of Post-UME, not only the way student are squeezed, extorted and exploited by universities, through the payment of money to sit for the exams, but the dangers these aspiring university students fall into during this exercise, especially to ladies. I sighted an example of how most of these innocent girls were raped by undesirable elements within the univ...