ASUU restates opposition to National Education Bank

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has condemned plans by the leadership of the House of Representatives to fast-track the re-establishment of the National Education Bank (NEB) in the country.

ASUU said it views the move with strong suspicion that the Nigerian ruling class would contemplate bringing back a project which collapsed after about eight years of its experimentation on account of corruption, maladministration and government’s irresponsiveness.

National President of ASUU, Biodun Ogunyemi, who spoke while briefing newsmen on the outcome of its national executive council meeting held at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, said ASUU is aware that the federal lawmakers want to domesticate the idea borrowed from Western nations.

“But, in all honesty, can they compare the Nigerian situation with the Western world in terms of guaranteed opportunities for paid employment?

“Even in the climes where the idea of students’ loan through the education bank was borrowed, it has been seriously reviewed because of the attendant consequences of massive default

“ASUU restates her rejection of the re-introduction of the National Education Bank and shall use all legitimate means to resist it in the long interest of Nigerian youth and the nation,” Ogunyemi stated.

Reacting to the unfortunate death of three students of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, ASUU observed that the incident was avoidable if necessary infrastructures are put in place in tertiary institutions.

“ASUU was alarmed about the initial report on the avoidable death of three students of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi on August 5.

“NEC reviewed the incident leading to the loss of three students as a result of a collapsed bridge linking the students’ hostels with the lecture area and regretted that it could happen in a 21st century university campus.

“ASUU calls for a full-scale investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the incident. Anyone found culpable in the ugly incident should be made to face the full weight of the law,” the union added.

Commenting on the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, the ASUU national president urged Nigerian leaders to fix the country to stem unnecessary migration, tasking them to tap into the country’s intellectual community for socio-economic policies capable of transforming Nigeria.

Also, he declared that no country can ever witness transformation without a solid education, noting that scholars who are regarded as a catalyst to development have been shunned by the government.

“There are two dimensions to xenophobic attacks; there are pull factors and there are push factors. There is a problem if migration is not two-way; it means you are more dependent rather than being mutually dependent.

“The situation we have seen in Nigeria is that the movement that we do is more of push factor by our own environment here. We are conscious of a position of weakness in which poor leadership has put this country.

“We have the resources to compete and beat South Africa on any ground such that the respect would be mutual. But today, they see us as dependent, inferior and people they can just discard with.

“If you go to South African universities, maybe, 50 per cent of their top-notch scholars are people from Nigeria or tutored by Nigerians. The academic and intellectual community in South Africa respect Nigerians. But, when you now start to compete with their income section, there is bound to be conflict.

“If we fix our country, South Africa will respect us. We lost our respect the moment we can no longer cater for our citizens. Even if we bring back people from South Africa and we don’t have plans for them, they will still find a way of going back,” Ogunyemi submitted.