ASUU STRIKE: students query invitation of Osinbajo to OAU convocation
According to a statement by Gbenga Ololoniran, the Protem Chairman of Great Ife Students’ Union Action Committee, it is condemnable to invite Mr Osinbajo to a university that is a victim of government’s negligence of the education sector.
“To invite such a prime figure behind the underfunding of education to be honoured among students is a mockery on students and education itself,” the student activist stated.
He said Nigeria is under “economic and political bondage as a result of the anti-masses policies of the federal government.”
Mr Ololoniran said the neglect of the education sector by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration has “led to a hike in fees in several institutions and made it difficult for the children of average Nigerians to access qualitative education.”
He added that the struggle against the situation by students has led to their “grievous victimisation and repressions on students’ unionism even on Obafemi Awolowo University.”
“At this period where the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been on strike across universities, including OAU, over the rotten state of university education, it is still a shock to us that the only solution provided by the government is for tertiary students to begin to pay N700,000 as tuition fee per session.
“We, therefore, see the presence of such anti-student figure of the government in an academic arena to be a guest speaker, as a rape of our collective intelligence in a university where students’ academic activities are currently battered by the nationwide industrial action of ASUU.
“We make bold to assert that Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is not welcome on OAU campus.”
To avert the gate of the university “being shut against the vice president”, the students’ leader said the government must “initiate adequate funding of education by committing at least 26 per cent of the country’s budget as against the paltry 7seven per cent to the education sector.”
