ASUU strike: ‘Calm down, you’re not yet president’ – Mixed reactions as Tinubu meets NANS leadership

The president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Sunday Asefon on Thursday disclosed that the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has reached a stage where the end is more important than the means. He added that NANS under his leadership will do anything possible to make sure that students return to school as soon as possible.

The NANS president disclosed this after leading the national executives of NANS and stakeholders to meet with the presidential aspirant of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in order to find a lasting solution to the strike, which clocked five months today.

The meeting also had in attendance Tinubu’s running mate, Kashim Shettima.

Taking to Facebook hours after meeting with Tinubu, Asefon wrote: “We had fruitful engagements and Asiwaju, who passionately expressed his concerns and his efforts in the past during similar strike action commended the students leaders for their initiatives to engage in high level advocacy and seek political solution. He shared our position that every reasonable Nigerian must be seriously concerned as the continuous strike poses a great danger to security and collective well being of our nation.

“Asiwaju therefore promised to immediately step up his interventions, even now that the President has opened the window for individual contributions to dialogues in pursuit of the end of the industrial action.

“Nigerian students expressed our deepest appreciation to Asiwaju for cutting short his very tight schedule and campaign activities to address our leadership and make strong commitment to the end of the strike. He also promised to continue to engage with us and youth organisations across the country to tap into our strength, ideas and creativities in the days ahead while ensuring that youth and students forms integral part of his programmes.”

He continued that NANS under his leadership is now willing to do whatever it takes to make sure the students return back to classes.

“We have reached a stage in this struggle where the end is more important to us than the means and as leaders we will not do less than our very best to ensure the end of the strike.”

However, the meeting with Asiwaju has been generating mixed reactions from Nigerian students who took to the NANS president’s Facebook comments section to air their views. While some described the meeting as a welcome development and hailed the NANS president for his relentless efforts in making sure that the strike is called off, others criticized the NANS president for meeting with the presidential aspirant.

A Facebook user Oladokun Bolu Samuel, said “Just cashout well and handover. I don’t want to talk much. Of course, you are an APC man and you will try to justify this. Using NANS as foundation for your political career no issues. I just hope you know that the agreement is between FG and ASUU not Tinubu/APC and ASUU.”

Another user, Oluwafemi Adegbeyemi posted, ” My friend Adekunle said “there is a hungry NANS that must be fed” Egbon Sunday, eti lule in this struggle! The students dey wait on God…..ati NANS o, ati Nigerian leaders o, you all are failures.”

“Shameless comrades. Is Tinubu the ASUU chairman or president of Nigeria? What position is he occupying that will intervene in ASUU strike. Just gattat.” Ogayi Nonso Amos opined.

In his words, Evangelist Nweke Samuel, said ” Mumu people everywhere, wisdom didn’t tell you who ASUU chairman is”