The Nigeria Labour Congress(NLC) has criticised politicians for showing off their children studying abroad, while the industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) lingers for months.
While presenting a letter of complaint to the leadership of the National Assembly on Wednesday in Abuja, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, decried that children of the less privileged were denied quality education in Nigeria.
“No reason is good enough for the children of the working class and the poor to be at home for one day, whereas their children are graduating from Nigerian private universities and abroad.
“They have the audacity to post them on social media so that we can see,” he said.
The NLC had organised a mega protest in solidarity with the trade unions in the public universities over their lingering strike.
He said the federal government must do the needful to respond effectively and promptly to resolve the issues affecting the education system.
The NLC president noted that over 10 million children in the public institutions, including three sets, were waiting for their admission to be sorted out.
Mr Wabba, therefore, called on the government to listen to the cries of the poor as, without quality education, there would be no peace for everyone, even democracy.
He said the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, Colleges of Education, and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, among others, had pending issues with the government.
“Those issues are straightforward; some of them are not even monetary policy issues. Yet our leaders cannot listen to fix those issues.
“It has been promises, and those promises have not been kept. We are tired, but we are not tired of their antics.
“We will take our destinies in our own hands and that of our children, which is very important and fundamental,” he said.
Senator Boroface Ajayi, who received the letter of complaint on behalf of Senate President Ahmad Lawan, commended the NLC leadership for the peaceful protest.
He said the National Assembly was working to ensure that the strike was called off and the students returned to school.
(NAN)
