Students of Sokoto State University have appealed to the state chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off its solidarity strike with the national body in the interest of the future of the state.
The students, who agreed that national ASUU was right in embarking on strike in order to compel the Federal Government to honour the 2009 renogotiated agreement, added however that the strike has had very negative impact on economy, education, security and all other sectors of human endeavours.
Addressing journalists at the Sokoto State office of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) on Thursday, the President of Sokoto Students’ Leaders Forum, Comrade Alkasim Garba, noted that the Federal Government should urgently address the lingering crisis to forestall total collapse of the education sector.
In his plea to the Sokoto State University chapter of ASUU, Alkasim reminded the lecturers that the state government is not owing them any salary, hence the need for them to return to classes.
He said, ” Here in Sokoto State, Governor Aminu 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 have no labour dispute with ASUU.
“And the national strike declared by ASUU from records available to us, Sokoto State Government has approved salaries and allowances for all categories of employees not only the state university, but all tertiary institution.
“We therefore see no justification for ASUU continuation with strike embarked upon by the ASUU national body.
It can be clearly seen from legal action between the Federal Government and ASUU before the National Industrial Court that states universities are not joined in the suit which clearly proved that state universities have no business with ASUU strike. Sympathy strike should not be indefinite”.
Talking on the consequences of the ongoing ASUU strike, Alkasim listed the effects of the strilke to include , aggravated insecurity, economic hardship, destruction of education facilities and increased drug addiction.
He added that the development has now turned students to idle youths and willing tools for negative exploitations.
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