8 hours ago
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The National President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof. Christopher Piwuna has called for the radicalisation of professional associations in the educational system, adding that doing so will make government listen to them and take any agitation seriously.
He also said if all unions in the educational sector will unite, their force will be so great that every Nigerian will see where they are heading with education.
Piwuna made the call during an Educational Colloquium held in his honour by the Nigerian Medical Association, Plateau State chapter, in Jos, on Friday.
The Colloquium had the theme: The Role of Professional Associations in Shaping and Strengthening the Educational System in Nigeria.
He said, “If we radicalise our associations, government will wake up. Our associations are not being listened to because we operate as if we’re part of the establishment of parastatals of government.
“But I think that if we have a clear head, and we have clear principles outlined, you know, as to what we want to achieve, it will help us push government, and then the government would be able to see us as people they can listen to.
“There is nothing like partners in progress. It’s like the horse and the rider. The rider wants to push you to where it wants you to get. And for the horse, the weight of the rider is just right on him, you know.
“So we need to speak the truth to them and let them know that there are things that need to be done, and that if we put the country as our overall goal to make it better, perhaps we’ll get to a meeting ground where both of us can see that is okay.
According to him,”This journey, we need to hold each other’s hands as we proceed on the journey, not to sit on another person and ask him to take you through the journey.
Speaking about ASUU since his assumption of office as President, Piwuna said, “ASUU has not achieved anything under my leadership, to start with, we haven’t achieved much, but as a union, historically, we have achieved quite a lot.
“You heard about TETFund, you heard about the NEEDS assessment. These are projects that were initiated or thought of by ASUU, and that has made impact in the growth of the educational sector.
“And we hope that we can, in the years to come, hold on to what has been handed over to us by our leaders in the past.
“Well, I would want all unions, all associations, to unite; ASUU, SSANU, NASU, COEASU, among others, all of us in the educational sector, if we unite, our force will be so great that every Nigerian will see where we are going with education.
“And I think that would make government realise that they would have no choice than to take education seriously and give it the priority that he deserves”, he stressed.
Professional associations must be radical to move govt – ASUU President, Piwuna
