Former President Goodluck Jonathan has described how his administration quickly put an end to a protracted strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The varsity teachers have been on strike since February, and Jonathan recalled how his administration tried to deal with one such industrial action when he spoke on Wednesday, August 31, in Abuja at a conference to celebrate Bishop Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese turning 70.
Read Also: Akeredolu Berates FG Over Pipeline Contract, Restates Stance On State Policing
Jonathan said;
The society we are managing is quite complex. Yes, I was the president and I tried my best. Now, we are talking about ASUU strike. During my time too, ASUU had four months of strike. Different committees were meeting but nothing was working. I said ‘How can our children stay out of school for four good months?” Jonathan said at the event.
So, I had to call a meeting of all the leadership of ASUU. I presided over the meeting with my vice president. The Attorney General was there. I said that that night we must solve the problem. The Attorney General was there; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation was there; the ministers of education were there; the labour ministers were there; the finance ministers and everybody that had to do with it [strike].
And I thought that my being there would help us to do things quickly. But we spent the whole night.
We finished like 5:30 am and the strike was called off. So, there were issues
Bishop Kukah was praised by the previous governor of Bayelsa, who stated priests needed to speak out against poor leadership in society.
Jonathan also addressed the nation’s democracy, pleading with Nigerians to guard against it veering into fascism. He believes that democracy is still the best option for governing a diverse country.
Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, as well as governors and former ministers, were among the prominent dignitaries present at the occasion.
