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FG Plans To Kill Education In Nigeria, ASUU Alleges
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said that its ongoing strike was as a result of the Federal Government refusal to fund education as demanded, stressing that it is a deliberate strategy to kill education in Nigeria.
ASUU, therefore, said it would unfold its next agenda if the Federal Government refused to negotiate with it on its demands as scheduled.
The National Chairman of the union, Profr Biodun Oyeyemi, said this in Ilorin at the weekend at the Town and Gown meeting it had with parents, students’ union leaders and alumni of universities in the country at the Africa Hall, University of Ilorin in Kwara State.
He said the Federal Government with the right attitude can fund education in Nigeria, saying that giving N80billion bailout to banks was a clear indication.
Ogunyemi, who gave graphical details of agreements ASUU had with the Federal Government since 2009, said they are yet to be honoured despite promises made to the union.
He said that the plans of the Federal Government to kill education in Nigeria was to make education inaccessible to the poor which had already started manifesting with the increasing involvement of several average Nigerian youths in cybercrimes, rituals, kidnapping and banditry, among others, while the rich celebrate the graduation of their children in overseas on social media.
“If the government refuses to negotiate, we will unfold our next agenda. Let’s wait and see. When we get there we will cross it.
“The current strike action embarked on by the academics was necessitated by the deliberate refusal of the Federal Government to fund university education and leaving the nation’s universities facilities to decay.
“There is a deliberate attempt to kill the university education in the country. Some universities use stoves in their laboratories instead of burners and buckets to fetch water to perform experiments, it is as bad as that.
“Check the social media, you will see them celebrating their children graduating from foreign universities. This is why they are not willing to fund public universities,” the ASUU president said.
He also explained that ASUU had signed MoU with the Federal Government on the need to improve facilities in the campuses, students welfare, academics promotion and welfare but were neglected because, “there were plans to make education inaccessible to children of the poor which today is creating social vices such as yahoo-yahoo, yahoo-plus, banditry and other criminal activities in the society.”
While lamenting what he called decay in the country’s university education which he said were occasioned by the nonchalant attitude of government the ASUU leader said: “Nigeria can fund free education if the government shows the right attitude to education, block all leakages and curb corruption. If the government can give N80billion to banks as a bailout, why not to the education sector?”
Past leaders of ASUU, Prof Sule Abdullahi Kano and Prof Nasir Issa Fagge in their separate remarks, urged parents, students and the public to see reasons with ASUU.
“We urge you to support and work with us to get out of the mess Nigeria educational system is into,” they said.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”