Parents and students implore the Nigerian government to prevent a new strike and end the ASUU half-salary controversy

 The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the National Parent Teacher Association

of Nigeria (NAPTAN) have joined forces to urge the Federal Government to resolve the half-salary dispute with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in order to prevent further labor unrest in the education sector. 

The calls were made as a result of lecturers' plans to hold protests and call a day without classes to protest the government's payment of half their salaries after they resumed their eight-month strike.

In an interview with the Vanguard Newspaper on Monday, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, the national president of NANTAP, stated that because the professors have picked up where they left off in the 2021–2022 session after returning to work, they should be compensated for the months they were on strike. 

"The government ought to act morally. The lecturers must be compensated. We're all aware that some time has been lost, but given there are efforts being made to close the gap, there shouldn't be any further steps taken to speed up the procedure. 

Teachers and pupils would just have to miss a few holidays, and as parents, we don't want anything to upset the balance once more.

Parents eagerly await the day when their children graduate from school and begin to enjoy the rewards of their labor. Danjuma argued that the problem of personality conflicts or ego should not be let to plunge education into yet another crisis. 

NANS, on its part, expressed concern that the Federal Government was not prioritizing education in a statement co-issued by the South-West Zone Coordinator, Adegboye Olatunji, Deputy Coordinator, Alao John, and Public Relations Officer, Awoyinfa Opeoluwa. 

The Federal Government decided it would be prudent to pay Academic Staff Union of Universities members half wage, just as Nigerian students are beginning to grin again following the suspension of an eight-month-long ASUU strike.

If permitted to continue, this ill-advised action will not only set a poor example but also destroy the already deteriorating morale of our lecturers and further erode the already fragile trust between the aforementioned union and the government. 

Ironically, Mallam Adamu Adamu (Minister of Education), Dr. Chris Ngige (Minister of Labour and Employment), and Festus Keyamo (Minister of State for Labour and Employment) who were directly appointed and paid from our commonwealth to oversee Education and Labour matters, made minimal contributions to the development.

In fact, we have credible evidence that Dr. Ngige in particular was prepared to bring down the entire industry in order to crush ASUU and stroke his fragile ego. 

All signs point to the Federal Government and its overpaid workforce being prepared to bury the entire educational sector if immediate action isn't taken. 

In addition, if ASUU decides to strike once more as a result of this uncouth decision, the government might as well give up on tertiary education altogether. 

"As the leadership of Nigerian students in the entire South-West, we demand that our intellectuals, who are shaping our society's future, receive the respect they deserve and that nothing be done to violate their dignity.

The NANS statement said that "procedures to pay the remaining portion of their remunerations be put in action promptly."