PRESS STATEMENT 19TH JUNE 2008
AFENIFERE BACKS NUT, WANTS AJA NWACHUKWU REDEPLOYED
Afenifere supports all efforts by the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) in
their on-going struggle for their legitimate demands.
The NUT embarked on a 3-day warning strike last week to compel the Federal
Government to implement the Teachers Salary Scale (TSS) for which N781
million was appropriated in this year’s budget but which they alleged
has been withheld by the Federal Ministry of Education.
We had expected a responsible and responsive government to immediately
enter into dialogue with the teachers to avert a full-scale needless
strike.
But the Minister of Education, Dr. Aja Nwachukwu has behaved in the most
irresponsible manner on the teachers strike. He said the Federal
Government would not dialogue with the teachers as it is not perturbed by
their action “and we are not in popularity contest with anybody”.
This is an insensitive, arrogant and senseless statement from a former
teacher who is serving a presidency headed by an ex-teacher as President
and a former don as Vice-President.
It is also a blow to the illusion that having a graduate president would
see us having the government pay better attention to education.
The posturing of Dr. Nwachukwu is a reminder of the sad days of military
rule when soldier boys talk down on the people with impunity. His remarks
rank with David Mark’s odiferous statement of “telephone is not for
the people” of those days.
If Yar’Adua is being accused of non-performance today, we can now see
that part of his problems are those he has surrounded himself with.
To show that the comment of Nwachuwku is not a reflection of his
government policy on education, Yar’Adua must redeploy Nwachuwku from
the education ministry without further delay.
We commend the teachers for extending their ultimatum by another 7 days.
This period should be used by the government to sort out all the issues at
stake so that our children are not locked out of schools again.
Nwachuwku and other government officials whose children are schooling
abroad can afford to be “unperturbed” when teachers going on strike,
but our people who have their children in these schools are scared stiff.
President Yar’Adua must realize that there is sufficient crisis in our
education system already that should not be compounded. He should call for
a report on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) about two weeks ago
where school teachers were showing how they sit on bare floor with their
students to exchange knowledge. It is that bad!
But for the fact that event he emergency promised in the power sector is
still in its “planning” stage, we should be calling for a state of
emergency in the education sector.
‘Yinka Odumakin
National Publicity Secretary