One of Nigeria’s leading activist, budget tracking expert and social worker, Auwal Rafsanjani, has expressed deep surprise that the duo of Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Productivity, and Adamu Adamu, Minister of Education, are still very much in office despite the near five months strike by public University lecturers.
According to him, both men should have resigned from office at this time given the intractability of ongoing strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
Rafsanjani is the executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center, CISLAC.
He made his mind known on the strike over the weekend while bemoaning the state of the educational system in the country
Mr. Ibrahim Rafsanjani who spoke in Kano at Journalists training on “prioritizing anti corruption and accountability issues during the upcoming 2023 elections” declared ASUU industrial action as legitimate steps to revamp University education.
Mr Rafsanjani said “It is only in Nigeria, Universities are closed for 6 months and people who are in charge of Education are not resigning.”
He explained that “The legitimate demand by ASUU is about quality of Education. You cannot have a University without laboratory, a university without facility to carry out research. In the world today , innovation in science and technology are coming from the University, and our own have become stationary. As patriot, you dont expect the teachers to remain unconcerned.”.
The CISLAC boss lamented that “The last time ASUU enjoyed salary review was in 2009, and from 2009 to date , we all know that prices of things have skyrocketed, and for them to demand for salary review its legitimate, because one school drop out who happened to be a legislature or political appointee earns million, while a professor in the University learns N116k.”
Rafsanjani stated that “A Professor who has spent 30 years in the system earn N416k , while one legislature who is probably a school drop out he earns in the House of Representatives N17m excluding other illegitimate earning . In the senate, it is N19m excluding other illegitimate earning, and you will say a University professor should not earn N500k.”
The CISLAC boss said “You cajole them, you incite the public against them, but they have family. If the politicians , and political appointees are earning much, for goodness sake, while should we look down on our teacher.”
Auwalu Ibrahim Rafsanjani maintained that
“The while essence boils down to basterdization of institution. They benefitted, they enjoyed because none of them went to private schools some of them were even given allowances they were collecting free meal, but now you have children you can not afford to send to them to university because they are pushing people to go to private University. It’s not everybody that can pay school fees.”
He said “As at today, private University are collecting per semester N3m, where will you get that money as a civil servant unless you are a thief”.
Rafsanjani posited “We must understand the consequences of corruption, it has compromised our security, destroyed our health care system, and also destroyed our education and values system. Corruption has helped to undermine our our development , help to undermine everything around us and we are moving as if everything is alright.”
