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ASUU Strike: First Lady expresses concern as UNIBEN students protest against continued action

Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State First Lady

*Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State First Lady, urges an end to University lecturers’ strike, saying, ‘our children need to go back to school. It is a ticking time bomb when our children sit at home doing nothing. The Devil will find work for the idle hands’

Isola Moses | ConsumerConnect

Concerned about the seemingly unending industrial action in the country’s University system, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State First Lady, has urged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to urgently address the ongoing strike in Nigeria.

The First Lady of Lagos State, who stated this Wednesday, May 4, 2022, at a special Eid-El-Fitr celebration hosted by the Lagos State first family and the state government held at Lagos House, Alausa, in Ikeja, to commemorate the end of Ramadan.

Dr. Sanwo-Olu stated: “Our children need to go back to school. It is a ticking time bomb when our children sit at home doing nothing. The Devil will find work for the idle hands.

“Our children, those in the universities, sitting down at home for two months is not a plus for us and so anytime we have the opportunity, we as parents, especially mothers, should continue speaking up.”

The Lagos State First Lady also noted: “The Federal universities are shut down as a result of the ASUU strike. We plead and plead that God will help us to resolve this issue.

“I don’t feel comfortable that the students are at home and whatever it takes, all hands must be on deck to ensure that they go back to school.”

She as well urged the Nigerian youths to shun all ungodly, immoral, and bestial acts, advising the parents also to pay closer attention to issues affecting their children.

Sanwo-Olu also said: “As we bask in the euphoria of this sacred celebration, it is also important to seize the opportunity of this spiritual exercise to admonish our children and youths to shun all ungodly, immoral, and bestial acts.

“As parents and guardians too, we must lead by example and pay closer attention to the totality of what concerns our children and wards. It is okay to intrude into their privacy and ensure that we guide them on the right path.

“More importantly, let us be their true and sincere friends so that we can earn their trust and confidence to discuss anything and everything with us. That way, we have the unique opportunity to put things right.”

The First Lady added that beyond Ramadan, it is important for Nigerians to imbibe and sustain the principles of the holy month which among others include peace, kindness, compassion, and happy co-existence.

“The Holy Prophet held these principles in high esteem and lived His whole life around them.

UNIBEN students protest against continued ASUU strike in Nigeria   Photo: Channels TV

“It is also important for us to allow all these virtues to reflect in our actions, public conduct, and interpersonal relations with everyone around us, long after Ramadan.

“This way, we will improve on the cordial relationship that exists among the various ethnic groups and adherents of different religions in our state,” she stated.

At the celebration were dignitaries, including Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, and Oluremi, his wife, as well as other top government functionaries from the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary; political leaders, Islamic clerics, traditional rulers, and members of various organisations in the state.

Students protest against ASUU strike at UNIBEN

Meanwhile, some of the protesting the University of Benin (UNIBEN), in Benin City, Edo State, Wednesday reportedly defied the early morning rain to protest over the continued strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

The students in large numbers, took their protest to the King Square area of the city, demanded an end to the strike, saying, that they are tired of staying at home, besides being cut off from their academic pursuits, report said.

They appealed to the relevant authorities to revisit the burning issue of the lingering ASUU strike.

Several of the student also rued watching their dream of graduating suffer stagnation amid the continued industrial action.

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