Ekeomah Atuonwu
On Tuesday, some Nigerians referred to a Facebook post by Aisha Buhari, the wife of the president of Nigeria, honoring her daughter-in-law’s graduation from a British institution, as “insensitive” and have criticised her for the update.
Additionally, they requested Mrs. Buhari to apologize to the millions of Nigerian students who are still stranded at home as a result of the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ ongoing, seven-month strike.
The caption on a photo of Mrs. Buhari, her son Yusuf, and his wife Zahra read: “Congratulations to Mrs Zahra B. Buhari on your graduation with First Class Honors in Architectural Science. Wishing you all the best.” It would be recalled that Nigerian Universities has been on strike since February this year as the government has failed to meet the demands of the Academic Union of Universities, ASUU.
Recently, students have been protesting the prolonged strikes on highways and airports in Nigeria.
In Nigeria, many top politicians’ children go abroad to study whereas, the common Nigerian who cannot afford foreign education, is faced with lingering strikes thus prolonged education.
ASUU has called 16 strikes in 23 years, 16 of which have occurred since 1999 and have lasted a total of three years. In 2013 and 2018, there were 165 days with no lectures.
According to certain media, the Academic Staff Union of Universities calls strikes every five years. This is alarming when you consider what it means for young people’s education, academic standards, and the nation’s general human capital development.
According to Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can be used to change the world.”
If the strike persists and if future strike actions are not averted, there is every possibility that more students will lose interest in higher education.
