Gbenro Adesina
President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew, Hon. Fatuhu Muhammed, representing Daura/Sandamu/MaiAdua Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, has urged the legislative arm of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to work with the executive arm to sell off the federal universities in the country to private investors.
Muhammed, who is said to be a Third Class Graduate of Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and a product of Federal Government College (FGC), Kwali, Abuja, noted that the only way out of the incessant strike actions by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), is to privatise the public universities so that attention could be given to the polytechnics.
The 42 year old member of House of Representatives noted that ASUU has been giving the Federal Government unbearable and unmanageable problems, hence, the public universities should be privatised.
He said that privatising public universities has become necessary so that the Federal Government could concentrate on the polytechnics.
Muhammed is an award wining legislator in Nigeria. Among the awards he has received are: “Iconic youth achiever in youth and women empowerment by National youth council of Nig ASF 2018”, “Award of service to humanity by NANS Zone A” and “Media friendly Grassroots political personality of the year 2017 @ 11 Nig media Award”.
He is a member of All Progressive Congress (APC).
The demands of ASUU includes the implementation of all outstanding provisions in the 7th February 2019 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action, the need to re-commence and conclude the Re-negotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, based on ILOs collective bargaining principles within the six-week timeframe originally set for it and the need for President Muhammadu Buhari, as a visitor to the Federal Universities, to constitute and activate Visitation Panels to all Universities and direct that the outcomes be fully implemented.
i must confess that it is quite ironic that hitherto, I was oblivious of the ongoing uproars that surround the call made by Honourable Fatuhu Muhammed last week, that the Federal Government ought to privatize Nigerian universities. To start with, the honourable member, mind you, said, it was his own opinion, which of course he is entitle to and equally has every right to share with his fellow colleagues in the House of Representatives; and by extension, share with fellow Nigerians as well. Not only that, he had said this by dint of a suggestion with a view to proffering some solution to the regrettable and unnecessary seemingly endless ASUU strike, which is taking a toll on the university students across the country,
In truth, it will make sense if governments begin to make some divestment in public universities such that some certain arrangements or moves that will check the financial abuses or excesses that are often on the part of university staff,
Similarly, if government invest more in the polytechnics, just like the honourable suggests, certainly the country will benefit immensely in terms of socio-economic opportunities. for instance, today, most countries that are well devevelled, are the result of investing more in their polytechnics as opposed to in their universities. the reason for this assertion is not far fetched. Bellow are some of the reasons:
First, the polytechnics produce more of artisans as what they are taught, is more of practical as opposed to, theory taught in the universities. Hence, a product of the polytechnic tends to be more advantageous to a nation striving to create wealth as well as job, development wise than a product of the university, who in most cases end up making laws or policies or at most making researches.