Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has blamed the federal and state governments in Nigeria for the rise in insurgent citizenship, saying instead of investing in the welfare of the people, the government is investing heavily in buying of multi-billion naira weapons of war.
The ASUU chairman, University of Ibadan, Prof Deji Omole, disclosed this on Sunday in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, during a chat with journalists.
He maintained that many states have been reverting to organising their internal security networks without treating the causes of insecurity, adding that the union has been warning governments to cater for the needs of the vulnerable in the society which appear to have fallen to deaf ears.
Omole stated that instead of budgeting for people’s welfare, Nigerian governments now spend billions of naira to buy security equipment from the countries that have invested heavily in research and training.
According to him, due to years of neglect and unbridled corruption in high places, many Nigerians have come to lose interest in standards of ethical living since those leading them are mortgagers of the future.
The professor of Forest Engineering stated that the union had maintained that a time will come when the children of the poor will have nothing to eat but the rich in the society, stating that the observation is happening now.
According to the ASUU boss, poor education funding has made Nigerian students live in zoo-like hostels with sad memories for society.
Omole who noted that Nigerian leaders benefit more with Nigeria ranking as the world poverty capital and deepening corruption, maintained that unless the basics are treated, budgeting for weapons will increase ‘lootocracy’.
He continued: “Every year they budget for themselves. The president and his cabinet get lion share and some members of the National Assembly with no brilliant contributions to the economy become billionaires overnight as a result of this insecurity. Instead of attending to poverty, education and unemployment, the security forces advise on buying more weapons.
“They keep on churning out bad policies that impoverish more families and with no job, and bad economy, crime and criminality are reigning supreme. Government must give electricity, tackle unemployment and attack poverty and fund education to keep children in focus on positive development attitudes.”