The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Lagos State Area Unit, has expressed great concern over the ongoing imbroglio between the Academic Staff Union of the Universities and the Federal Government.
The five-month-old face-off between the Federal Government and academic body over the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement assumed a dramatic dimension last week as the government vowed to sack any lecturer who fails to return to class within seven days.
The group, in a statement signed by its Amir (President), Kaamil Kalejaye, appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan to see to the end of the matter as soon as possible, stating that education is next in importance to freedom and justice.
It added that sacking the university teachers will not solve the problem but bring about more puzzle to be solved.
Kalejaye said: “As a student-based organization, it is not a good omen that students have been rendered redundant for more than five months.
“We use this medium to appeal to President Goodluck Jonathan to play a fatherly role to end this matter as education is paramount to the socio-economic development of a country’s future.
“We urge the Federal Government not to use force to bring the lecturers back to work as that will only worsen the case, the case of Unilorin 49 is still fresh in our memory.
“We believe the most honourable thing for the government to do is to honour the agreement reached with the lecturers in 2009.
“Doing this will definitely take the lecturers back to school immediately.”
The group stated that there is no doubt that the country’s education system is in rot and at a crisis point and those at the receiving end are the innocent students, describing it as a case of when two elephants fight.
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