He made the appeal at the inauguration of the three-storey College of Engineering Complex at the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Ekiti State, which was also named after the President.
Jonathan urged ASUU members to heed his appeal saying that whatever their grievances might be, keeping students out of school for four months was unpatriotic.
“I once again appeal to the entire membership of ASUU to pause and ponder on the adverse effect of their action on the future of the vibrant youths of this great nation. The collective destiny of tens of thousands of tomorrow’s leaders should not be held hostage to vagaries of labour disputes.
“So, let me use this unique opportunity that I am interfacing with our future leaders, our students, to plead with ASUU members. If it is a genuine strike keeping students out of classrooms for almost four months, by that they have demonstrated to everybody that they have a case. And if the strike is motivated by some other interests, they have also achieved that by keeping students out of schools for more than a semester,” he said.
The President emphasised that the freedom of association and the right of workers to go on strike should not be abused to harm the country’s interest.
He noted that as long government had shown commitment to improving the qualities of infrastructure in the universities and the operating environment, ASUU should reconsider its stand.
Jonathan noted that if students of private universities could get their degrees within three and half years as witnessed in ABUAD, “it is unacceptable that students of public institutions are kept for extra one or two years
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