Sokoto State University urged to suspend ASUU solidarity strike

BY ANKELI EMMANUEL, Sokoto

Sokoto state students have appealed to staff of the State-owned University to urgently call off their solidarity strike action in the interest of the future of the state.

The students’ body, which agreed that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) were right in embarking on their strike as a measure to push the federal government into complying with its 2009 renegotiated agreement, added however that, the strike has had very negative impact on the economy, education, security and all other sectors of human endeavours.

Addressing newsmen at the Sokoto state office of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Thursday, the President of Sokoto students’ leaders forum, Comrade Alkasim Isah Garba noted that the federal government should urgently address the lingering crisis to forestall total collapse of the education sector.

In their plea to the Sokoto State University chapter of ASUU, Comrade Alkasim reminded them that they are not being owed hence the need to return to classes.

“Here in Sokoto State, His Excellency, Rt Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has made several pronouncements on why the Sokoto State University chapter of the Union should see reason and return back to classes as his government has no labour dispute with ASUU.

“And the National strike action declared by ASUU from records available to us, Sokoto State Government has approved salaries and allowances for all categories of employees in not only the State University, but all tertiary institutions.

“We therefore see no justification for ASUU’s continuation with the strike embarked on by the ASUU national body. It can be clearly seen from the legal action entered between the federal government and ASUU before the National Industrial Court that states’ universities are not joined in the suit which clearly proved that they have no business with ASUU strike. Sympathy strike should not be indefinite.”

Talking on the consequences of the ongoing ASUU strike, Comrade Alkasim listed aggravated insecurity, economic hardship, destruction of education facilities, increased drug addiction, insisting that the action is making the idle youths willing tools for negative exploitations.