Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has expressed disapproval of the Federal Government’s decision to end fuel subsidies on Wednesday.
He claimed that the project was rife with dishonesty and unethical behavior.
Osodeke brought up the government’s refusal to upgrade the nation’s refineries during his speech at the opening public lecture and groundbreaking ceremony of the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI) ASUU Branch’s Secretariat.
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He claimed that the lack of attention was the reason why the bulk of Nigerians weren’t gaining from the petroleum industry.
He argued, “You can’t be exporting crude oil for more than 70 years and still can’t refine crude oil and sell to your people at the Nigerian rate, not at a dollar. Then, something is wrong. There is no subsidy. It’s not rocket science to build a refinery. They deliberately refused to maintain the ones they have.”
Osodeke also expressed worry on the nation’s educational system. He stressed that the authorities’ neglect of education during the previous two to three decades was the root cause of the current condition of affairs.
“Any country that doesn’t prioritize education is set for crisis; where we are today is because our leaders in the past 20 to 25 years had not taken education seriously and that’s why we are where we are today,” he said.
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Following the lecture titled “Reinvesting Nigerian Universities for Research and Development: The ASUU Perspective”, the immediate past ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, joined the call for the Federal Government to reevaluate its approach to the education sector.
He said, “We have several reports on the ground that have not been implemented. ASUU was negotiating with the government on how to arrest brain drain, how to restore quality, and how to revamp the facility. We did it for more than six years, Dr. Chris Ngige aborted it.”
The urgency of restarting the negotiation process was highlighted by Ogunyemi, who also criticized the administration for giving up on the talks after six years.
He also denounced the unpleasant and unwelcoming environment that university staff, students, and intellectuals currently endure.
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“We need to rethink our approach to education,” Ogunyemi concluded.
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