Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the late former national chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Festus Iyayi as a consummate scholar, writer, activist and gentleman per excellence.
The former Vice President in a statement by his media office in Abuja yesterday noted that “Professor Iyayi lived and died for the good of Nigeria’s education.”
The former Vice President noted that he is diminished by the death of any individual but that the death of Prof. Iyayi in a ghastly auto accident Wednesday afternoon left him benumbed.
“Prof Iyayi, no doubt, lived and died for the good of Nigeria’s education. He not only belonged to the crème-de-la-crème of the global literary world, his activism in ensuring that the standard of education in Nigeria is uplifted will doubtlessly register his name in the Hall of Fame of Nigeria’s education,” Atiku said.
The Turaki Adamawa regretted that the death of Iyayi on his way to Kano to find a solution to the intractable crisis in the Nigerian university education was a price too high to pay, especially to his family.
He noted that it was high time all stakeholders including government and ASUU reach an accommodation on outstanding issues to pave way for the end of the strike.
“I believe it’s time for reason to prevail for FG and ASUU to reach accommodation and end this intractable logjam. All stakeholders have lost so much to this strike and the loss of Iyayi should be a wake-up call to end the ASUU strike so that the students can get on with their studies,” Atiku said.
Atiku, however, mourns with the family and friends of the late Professor Festus Iyayi, ASUU and the Nigerian and global intellectual community on the loss of this doyen of the country’s education.
Signed:
Atiku Media Office
61 Ebitu Ukiwe Street
Jabi
Abuja.