ASUU STRIKE: FIBSA PRESIDENT, COM OJEWOLA PAUL URGES UNDERGRADUATES TO ACQUIRE SKILLS

The national President of Federation of Ibarapa Students Association, Comrade Ojewola Paul has given undergraduates pieces of advice on how to spend their time because of the ASUU indefinite strike.

In a letter make available to Asako Reporters correspondent and signed by the president of the group, Ojewola advised students to seize the strike opportunity to get a skill and add value to their lives.

“This strike is an opportunity for any undergraduate to get a skill. Students should always seize opportunities to add value to their life. At no time will conditions be favourable. Successful people only seize opportunities.

The letter reads in part;

It is no more news to us that the Academic staff union of Universities ASUU embarked on a one-month strike starting from February 14 which ended today March 14 as a warning to the federal government, this is as a result of inadequate funding of the Nigeria Universities and unfaithfulness of the FG to ASUU.

This is very awful as the Federal government did not meet up with the demands of the academic staff union of the universities and as a result of that, the ASUU chairman and executive members have vowed to embark on another two-month nationwide strike to close down the Nigerian universities.

This decision by ASUU is saddened and the students are at the receiving end, just like they normally say when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. The strike will affect the school’s academic calendars and it will cause delays and extensions to the duration of the student’s years of study. Four or five years courses might turn to seven or eight years or even more. Nevertheless, let us take it as part of the experiences of life and also to always remember this country in our prayers that God should touch the act of our rulers so as for them to do needful to resolve the strike as soon as possible.

The leadership of the Federation of Ibarapa student association Led by Paul Ojewola regrets this action taken by the ASUU and blamed the federal government for their unresponsiveness and uncommitted to Nigerian students. I thereby call all the sons and daughters of Ibarapa land who are students in various tertiary institutions (Universities) to see this nationwide strike action as part of life experiences and make use of it judiciously to learn some skills that will be useful for them in their pursuits in life.

As we all know that those at the helms of the affair have failed us in so many ways, particularly, on our educational system, we could see the system is wack and there seems to have been no improvements since the 90s. Also, the economy of the country is day by day deteriorating as well as a result of maladministration, thereby making the rate of unemployment to be extremely high in the country, and of course, that has given most students no hope of employment after school.

To that effect, The FIBSA NATIONAL President and his Executive members see this nationwide strike action as an opportunity for the students to learn some skills and also an avenue for students to ruminate about life after school

I want to believe, we have many graduates around us, if we ask them, they will tell us unimaginable things life has taught them and their experiences after living the school.

With all the aforesaid state of our country Nigeria, I thereby charge the students populace of Ibarapa land to learn some skills, find something lawful doing aside school work as this is not the time for you to be reading up and down as if everything is book and book. It is time for you and me to think outside the box.

Finally, I am a student of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, department of architecture and I can tell you without mincing words that good academic performance will help you while searching for a job in the labor market and the same vein learning skills will also make your life to be colorful as well after graduation. You will agree with me also that, not everybody will get government work but the skills you have acquired will make you a boss of yourself and you will even employ people to work for as an entrepreneur.

E-signed:

Paul Ojewola
FIBSA NATIONAL PRESIDENT