Anthony Iwuoma
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has described the National Honours Award conferred on the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, by President Muhammadu Buhari as an insult to Nigerian students.
The minister is among the 437 citizens to be honoured by the president on October 11, 2022.
However, NANS has kicked against such an honour for the minister, who has failed to resolve the almost eight-month old strike by public university lecturers.
In a statement, NANS National Public Relations Officer, Giwa Temitope, said it was an insult to the collective intelligence of Nigerian students who had been locked out of schools for close to eight months due to the ongoing strike action.
The statement read: “It constitutes an insult to the collective intelligence of Nigerian students both home and in the diaspora that the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, under whose nose university students have been home for close to eight months is to be awarded the National Honours of Commander of the Order of Niger.
“This act of the Buhari’s administration is a clear pointer to the fact that Nigerian students have been taken for a ride. And, we see this as the final straw that breaks the back of the camel of Buhari’s much touted integrity.
“Over the years, successive administrations in the country have shown to the Nigerian people that the National Honours is more of recognition of patronage than recognition of excellence. But Buhari has taken a step further to show the mass of Nigerian students that we are not on the priority list of the administration.
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“It is so unfortunate that a country which offered so much in hope and possibilities at independence has today become a land of suffering, insecurity and near hopelessness signposted by youth unemployment and underfunded educational sector.”
The students body reasoned that under normal climes, the duo of Adamu and his counterpart in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, would have been booted out long ago.
“But, the reverse is the case as Adamu under whose watch the educational sector of the country has totally collapsed is to be recognised with a National Honour for a job ‘well-done’, it noted.
“As an association, we reiterate that we pass a vote of no confidence in both Adamu and Ngige. And, we maintain that we shall be back to the streets in protest against the recklessness of this administration until the Federal Government settles every issue with ASUU for Nigerian students to return to classes.”
