…SAYS KEEPING STUDENTS AT HOME IS A SHAME
By Okosun Dennis
The Olofin of Isheri Kingdom and Adimula of Aworiland, His Royal Majesty, Oba Sulaiman Adekunle Bamgbade (Ayodele III) has said that the continued closure of Nigerian Universities which has kept students out of school in the last five months is unhealthy for the nation.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have been on strike since 14th February 2022, keeping both Federal and State Universities under lock and key.
According to his Majesty, “It is a worrisome situation for not just the students and parents who are directly involved, it has a greater negative impact on the societal development. The ongoing industrial action has become a disgrace to the country.
He noted that the traditional institutions will continue to talk and wouldn’t keep quiet about it until academic activities are back in all the higher institutions, adding that the likes of the Sultan of Sokoto have lent his voice to the impasse.
Oba Sulaiman Adekunle Bamgbade (Ayodele III) who spoke to the news crew of NAOSNPIAN LENS in his palace recently called on the government to save the educational sector from further decay.
He revealed that having intermittent educational activities is frustrating and confusing to young people. It is also destabilizing for the growth of a developing economy like Nigeria.
“It is a very bad situation as it concerns the education of our youths. It gives a feeling of helplessness when you have to pause several times not because of your fault but to carry on many times on your educational pursuit.
“As parents, we are equally angry but there is a limit to our influence our can go. The situation is quite bad and we are the ones feeling the brunt of it because as a traditional ruler, you can’t live elsewhere apart from the town where you are coronated.
“If I was a Commissioner, I could have been living in Lekki and be using Isheri Palace as my office but you have to sit in the midst of your people. And every day, they come to knock at the door that issues have happened and you have to face the challenges head-on.
“If the traditional institution had the powers, we would have ensured things change immediately but due to its limited influence in the current political system, there is nothing much we can do other than to continue to prod the government to see reasons.
“The Sultan of Sokoto has spoken about the issue, what has been done? Where are our children? They are still at home when they are supposed to be in school. So it is not like we don’t talk but we should not just be speaking for the fun of it. Our voices should be respected as a traditional institutions.
“I want the government to do more and bring the matter to a conclusion and stop the incessant strike so that our young ones could have an uninterrupted system. Yet, every day, on social media, you see the children of the elite and the political class graduating from universities abroad while Nigerian Universities are shut, it is bad.
“They are sending wrong signals to the youths in the country so the government should find a way and fix our education. It is wrong to leave our education in this situation for more than five months. We have to find a permanent solution.
“I want to beg our government to find a permanent solution to the incessant strikes. I also want to appeal to our youths to stay away from crime because there is light at the end of the tunnel,” Oba Sulaiman Adekunle Bamgbade (Ayodele III) concluded.
https://any.peopleandpowermag.com/olofin-of-isheri-kingdom-oba-bamgbade-calls-on-federal-government-to-call-off-asuu-strike/
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