NYCN appeals to ASUU – End strike for the sake of Nigerian youths

The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has called on the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end its ongoing action for the sake of Nigerian youth.

It said, the strike is no longer in the interest of Nigerian as the academic calendar which is now distorted will only devalue education in the country.

Addressing journalists at a news conference in Lagos yesterday, the National President of the country’s apex youth organisation, Abdulahi Abdulmajeed, said NYCN is not in any way opposing the demands of the university lecturers, insisting that the Nigerian education sector deserves the best from the government.

Abdulmajeed said: “The education sector in Nigeria deserves the best. We are asking for commitments on the part of the government and we are asking ASUU to be more reasonable to the plight of Nigerian youth and the well-being of the generality of Nigerians.

“We are not in any way opposed to the justifiable demands of ASUU; what we are opposed to is that Nigerian youth, about 30 million of them, have wasted more than 100 days in their academic year. This, the council deems inconsiderate and unpatriotic.”

Abdulmajeed noted that the council has the right to protect the interest of its 17 million members, greatly affected by the ongoing strike, just as ASUU has the right to protect the interest of its members.

"Because of this constant strike, armed robbery, kidnapping and prostitution have been on the rise. An idle hand is the devil’s workshop. Many of our youth are no longer employable because of the age limit many blue chip companies are setting for their employees," he said.

Abdulmajeed said ASUU does not have any justification to continue with the strike since negotiations can be ongoing while the students return to the classroom in pursuit of their education career.

He said shutting down universities in the country for a period of above a hundred days would not be acceptable to Nigerian youth.