PMB, please end 7-month strike in education sector

This is to urge the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to look into the crisis rocking the educational system in the nation, which has seen to a lingering seven-month-old strike in the nation.

The only way the federal government can ensure that it depopulates the high numbers of youths who are on the streets protesting and fronting the EndSARS movement is by ensuring that students are back to the classrooms across the 36 states of the federation.

This does not mean that we condemn the motive of the protests. The cases of police brutality generally got out of hand and are worthy to be protested against.

However, we believe it will be better for Nigeria as a country that the youths are in the classrooms breaking new grounds than on the streets protesting.

This call means that the government should step up its response to the demands and be more proactive. At least, killer SARS officers who had been identified directly with some of these atrocities and who are still walking free should be immediately arrested and paraded. This move we believe will help de-escalate tension and assuage the protesters.

We urge the federal government to resolve all issues with the ASUU within the next seven days and also call on the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 to quicken the process of releasing the comprehensive protocols that will allow Nigerian tertiary institutions to reopen for lectures.

Chidi Ilogebe, President National Association of Nigerian Students.