Paul Obi in Abuja
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday took a swipe at the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC) government for the depreciation of the economy and the ensuing suffering of the masses.
It accused the president and the party of running a change government that is devoid of transformation.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja on the state of the nation, ASUU President, Dr Nasir Isa, explained that the symptoms of the prevailing economic crisis have become obvious with its attendant consequences and overall burden on Nigerians.
Isa said: “There is no doubt that Nigerians are suffering. There exists a socioeconomic crisis in Nigeria. We are all aware of the manifestations of the crisis which our country faces. There are many symptoms of the crisis: rising level of poverty; increasing rate of unemployment; heightened expectation leading to heightened frustration among Nigerians due to the failure to realise an improved living standard.”
He argued that government inability to squarely tackle the present economic hardship has had a ripple effect on the daily lives of the masses, stressing that, “food prices are higher and access to health facilities has not improved; live and property remain insecure. In short, Nigerian people are still suffering,” Isa stated.
The ASUU president further maintained that so far, since the inception of the administration, “the disappointment of Nigerians stems from the fact that we have a government whose leadership promised change but which is not practising transformation (deep, fundamental change).
“Democracy in Nigeria is still seen superficially as what leaders do for the people rather than government by the people. Democracy is essentially popular participation in governance and popular sovereignty. Yet, there is in existence a long term national development plan agreed upon 2008 (Nigeria Vision 20: 2020). This has been abandoned in favour of IMF/World Bank imposed and enforced Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEFF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP),” ASUU said.