ASUU strike dangerous to growth of education – Ajibola

FORMER judge of International Court of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola has said in Ibadan that the current face-off between the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is a dangerous signal in view of the low rating of the country’s university system.

He said other countries of the world had found alternative to incessant strike as a means of settling dispute and the earlier the Nigerian university system chooses a better approach, the better for our dwindling education standard.

Unless something is done that would bring about quick resolution of the crisis between ASUU and FG, both parties in the impasse would turn our country into an illiterate country considering the fact that none of our universities could be rated among the 1,000 universities in the world.

“It is sad and the earlier our people in the ASUU can sit down and see how best to keep our universities on, the better. If you go round the world, you will find that what is happening here is unique”, he lamented.

The renowed jurist,at the first annual lecture organised by the Muslim Ummah of South West of Nigeria (MUSWEN), weekend, said the fees paid in the government universities across the country could not be compared with what is paid in private varsities.

government and the academic in order to ensure that they can live together and can move things on and make progress. If we continue to say that the country is going down and everything is a failure, we are also contributing to that failure”.

Continuing, he pointed out further a lot of these things could be ironed out by ordinary dialogue, looking into the situation and finding solution anytime that we are having problem of this nature””.

He defended the action of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria , Alhaji Sanusi Lamido on the five prominent banks saying ““there is nothing wrong with the CBN’s line of action to look into whatever is wrong with our banking system and the activities of our private banks”.

“To start with, if there is anything wrong in the way they have been operating the banks, let them be done in a very judicial manner. Let the matter be taken to court; let the parties be heard and let the decisions of the court hold”” the legal icon stated.

“It is very frightening and very disturbing, with all the allegations that they have made against the banks, particularly those who are operating the banks as chief executives. Now, they are still all allegations. We have not heard their own sides of the story”.

“The principle of justice and fair play and fair hearing is such that they must hear them too. Once they are heard and if they have done something wrong, they should be accordingly sanctioned. If not they should be allowed to go on operating their banks, the way they have operating before now. That should be made abundantly clear”, said he..