Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has expressed regret for sharing images of himself in a US classroom at Harvard School of Government during the roughly six-month closure of public universities in Nigeria.
Gbajabiamila issued this apology via a series of tweets on Wednesday, July 27.
“Yesterday, I posted a picture of myself at the @Harvard @Kennedy_School, undergoing a course. That post was not sensitive to the present feelings of fellow citizens, especially parents and students who are presently bearing the brunt of the ongoing closure of public universities owing to the unresolved issues between the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government of Nigeria,” the Speaker wrote.
Yesterday I posted a picture of myself at the @Harvard @Kennedy_School, undergoing a course. That post was not sensitive to the present feelings of fellow citizens, especially parents and students who are presently bearing the brunt of the ongoing closure of public universities
— Femi Gbajabiamila (@femigbaja) July 27, 2022
Gbajabiamila, a lawyer, on Tuesday posted pictures of himself in a class with other (non-Nigerian) students.
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“Back to class. In a leadership course at @Harvard @Kennedy_School. Forget the number of grey hairs one is never too old to learn, broaden or sharpen your skills,” he wrote on his verified Twitter page.
Nigerians expressed outrage at Gbajabiamila’s remarks and questioned the ethics of such a course of action given that millions of Nigerian university students have been staying at home for the past six months as a result of a strike by university professors.
On February 14, ASUU announced a strike after accusing the administration of failing to carry out prior agreements with the union.
Not Intention To Cause Anger
However, Gbajabiamila said it was not his intention to cause dissatisfaction with the post.
He said he has been at the forefront of trying to resolve the disagreement between the government and ASUU.
The Speaker also listed other interventions he has done to improve public education in Nigeria.
The rest of the tweet read in part;
I apologize for the post at this time, and I hope you will understand that it was not my intention to cause disaffection. As Speaker of @HouseNGR,I have made multiple interventions within the powers of the legislature to avert the ongoing strike.
I had direct engagements with ASUU relevant government agencies. The House of Representatives is still keenly involved in seeking a resolution to the issues so our students can return to school. We all await the outcome of the 2-week ultimatum given for the conclusion of negotiations with ASUU.
I have long been a champion of public education in Nigeria, and I have consistently advocated programs, policies and investments to improve the quality of public education in the country.
