Independence: ASUU Advocates For True Leadership

The Ibadan chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) announced on Sunday that Nigeria needs true national followers and leaders who can provide good governance and pursue the ultimate happiness of Nigerians as a whole.

This was said on Sunday by Professor Ayoola Akinwole, University of Ibadan ASUU Chairman during a speech on the state of the nation and the 62nd anniversary of Nigeria's independence.

He claimed that internal colonizers who support the hegemony of their people have been guiding Nigeria.

“If government is to make life bearable for the governed, the very many of people who witnessed colonial rule regret the current state of Nigeria.

"The way and manner in which the ruling class have piloted the affairs of the country since 1960 is nothing but internal colonialism and domination.”

The ASUU chairman insisted that nothing in Nigeria warranted raising the alarm about, lamenting the failure of previous governments to address the country's electrical crisis and make education the engine of its growth.

“A cross-section of Nigerians will, no doubt, agree that there are no grounds for celebrations and fanfare, due to the deplorable state of affairs in the country.

“The treatment meted out to Nigerians, most especially the intelligentsia, by the government and ruling class, most especially in the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is worse off.

"It also reflects the oppressive tendencies of some university administration on workers’ unions.

“The payment of N30,000 is worse than slavery.

"The non-payment of salaries for over seven months is inhumane treatment, aimed at depriving them of their humanity and turning them into modern slaves.

"The Nigerian ruling class represents the worst form of evil of internal colonialism unknown anywhere in the modern world.

“They mobilise the resources of the country and cart same away to foreign land, leaving their country and citizens in penury and deprivation.

“Nowhere is the decadence of an independent Nigeria is more abysmal than in the education system”, he added.

Professor Akinwole therefore applauded the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) for the social consciousness they demonstrated.