Adedokun Waliyu 
President Muhammadu Buhari has handed down a two-week ultimatum to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, within which to resolve the lingering strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other university-based unions.
The ultimatum followed a briefing he received from relevant ministries and parastatals head who he summoned to a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.t
In the meeting with Adamu were the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Ngige; the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan; the Chairman of National Salaries Income and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, and the Director-General Budget Office, Ben Akabueze.
Even though no official statement was released after the meeting, sources informed that the President was concerned that there seemed to be no end in sight for the over five-month-old ASUU strike.
He, therefore, directed the Education Minister to resolve the crisis and report back to him.
Recall that President Buhari had told the university lecturers that enough was enough and should reconsider their position on the prolonged strike with a view to calling it off.
He made the call on Monday in Daura, Katsina State, when he received some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), legislators and political leaders at his residence during the recent Sallah break.
The president had expressed worry that the hiatus will have generational consequences on families, the educational system and the future development of the country.
He said the strike had already taken a toll on the psychology of parents, students and other stakeholders, throwing up many moral issues that already beg for attention.
President Buhari noted that the future of the country rests on the quality of educational institutions and education while assuring that the government understands their position, and negotiations should continue, with students in lecture halls.
“We hope that ASUU will sympathise with the people on the prolonged strike. Truly, enough is enough for keeping students at home. Don’t hurt the next generation for goodness sake,” a statement issued by Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), quoted him as saying.
The President called on all well-meaning Nigerians, particularly those close to the leaders and members of the association, to intervene in persuading the lecturers to reconsider their position and the ripple effect on an entire generation and the nation.
President Buhari said students from Nigerian universities will be faced with the challenge of competing with others in a highly connected and technology-driven workspace, and keeping them at home only deprives them of time, skill and opportunities to be relevant on the global stage.
Colonial type education was geared towards producing workers in government. Those jobs are no longer there. Our young people should get the education to prepare them for self-employment. Now education is for the sake of education.
“Through technology, we are much more efficient. We should encourage our children to get an education, not only to look for government jobs,” he added.
President Buhari said resources should be channelled more into building infrastructure and operations of the health and educational sector, not to expand the bureaucracy to create job opportunities.
By this time next year, I would have made the most out of the two terms, and in the remaining months I will do my best,” the President noted.
President Buhari urged those in political positions and places of privilege to be mindful of helping the many Nigerians that were looking for opportunities.
“If you are greedy, you won’t look around to see what is happening with those who are less endowed,’’ he said.
