By Uzair Adam Imam
The presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, consoles with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), saying their genuine requests had met with deaf ears in Nigeria.
Atiku Abubakar stated this in a statement he issued and signed on Wednesday in celebration of the United Nations’ World Teacher’s Day.
Abubakar’s impassioned statement decried about the incessant strike which has been eight months now since lecturers shut down public universities to press their demands home.
He stated, “I wish to observe this all-important day by identifying with Nigerian teachers. I wish to identify with them in their moment of grief occasioned by poor working conditions over the years.
“Specifically, I use this medium to console Nigerian university lecturers whose genuine requests have met with deaf ears, and who have now stayed for over seven months without salary.
“Teachers are the backbone of a nation. They are the bedrock on which national development rests. Indeed, many educators have opined that, no nation can rise higher than the quality of its education system, and no education system can rise higher than the quality of its teachers.
“This means that no nation can make any meaningful progress in any sector without having well-trained, experienced, happy and well-remunerated teachers. A situation where some states are owing teachers’ salaries of up to five months, or even more, is unacceptable,” he stated.
