The Nigerian students will soon become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in their own country as a result of the unending strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), The African Students Education Support Initiative (ASESI) has said.
The students’ initiative said in Abuja on Monday that some of the students have now taken to various criminal activities as a result of the strike, calling on the government and ASUU to urgently resolve all the issues at stake in the interest of the Nigerian students.
The Executive Director of ASESI, Mr Chinonso Obasi, in a statement, decried the prolonged industrial action by ASUU.
Obasi, the immediate past President of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) said “reports have revealed that Nigerian students have now resulted in arm robbery, commercial sex activities, drug addiction and other inimical social vices because of the prolonged ASUU strike.
“It must be equally emphasised that the nonchalant attitude of the Nigerian Government towards education sector is a direct means of denying Nigerian students access to having good life and as well as indirect means of pushing them into anti-social activities and other forms of crime.
“The Nigerian Government as a matter of urgency should speedily meet the demands of the impoverished lecturers of the tertiary institutions in Nigeria to enable students return to school as we are set to declare Nigerian students as internally displaced persons(IDP) any moment from now should the Federal Government fail to address the ASUU issue,” Obasi said.
He said the level of development in any nation coul be best assessed by the inherent educational standard in terms of stability and growth, noting that it has become worrisome that Nigeria, being the supposed giant of Africa, has continually not shown genuine concerns and enthusiasms on the nation’s education sector.
Such nonchalant attitude of government, he said, was posing serious danger to the future of the country and her future leaders.
