Education Suffering Political, Bandit Attacks, ASUU Insists

…As Crucial Talks With FG Begin

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said the nation’s education system was not only being terrorised by armed groups, but was also being “attacked and killed instrumentally” by political leaders.

This came as the President of ASUU, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, noted that the union was holding a two-day crucial talks with the Federal Government, which, according to him, would determine if the aggrieved lecturers would resume their suspended strike or not.

The heavy criticism comes amid ongoing concerns over kidnappings in schools across several states, with parents, teachers and students increasingly fearful of learning environments.

Speaking to newsmen on the sidelines of the 2025 Harmattan School on Monday in Abuja, Piwuna emphasised that the threats to the education system were both physical and systemic.

He said: “Yes, education is another attack. It’s another attack by bandits in the bush and bandits in the government houses, in mansions, in city centres,” he said.

“So while the bandits are attacking and killing us instantly, our leaders are attacking and killing education instrumentally. And so we will continue our commitment to fight for education in Nigeria, to prioritise education in Nigeria. It’s unshakable.”

Throwing more light on the ongoing meeting with the government, the ASUU President, who criticised the government’s past claims of a high percentage of progress, noted that although there were some unresolved issues, the focus would be on renegotiation of aspects of the 2009 agreement, which he described as the central unresolved issue despite government claims of progress.

“We’ve always been unhappy with the Federal Ministry of Education when they come out to say they have met all our demands. But I can see the grammar is changing a bit now.

“It’s almost all the demands, that’s what they’re saying now. But clearly there are still issues, specifically our 2009 agreement, which is why we’re meeting this afternoon.”

Piwuna countered widespread speculations when he clarified that the union did not declare any strike for Friday, but made it clear that the outcome of the ongoing talks with the federal government would determine its next steps.

“No, there is no branch or zone that said strike will start on Friday. They were referring to the expiration of the ultimatum we had given to the government.

“If this meeting had taken place last week and it had failed, then what would have happened on Friday would be clear to Nigerians. But now that the meeting is being held today and tomorrow, we are hoping that we’ll get back to our members before the weekend or by the weekend to report to them.

“If the meeting today and tomorrow fails, we will return to our members and report to them that it has failed, and they will tell us what to do. And we’ll do exactly what they ask us to do. Our commitment is unshakable, as it was with our past leaders, as it is today. We will continue to fight for education in Nigeria.”