Vehicular movement halted for close to three hours in some parts of Ibadan, Oyo State on Thursday as students of the University of Ibadan protested against the “poor handling of education” by the Federal Government.
The students, who carried a coffin signifying “the death of education in the country,” converged on the main gate of the university around 7.30am.
They were led by their union officials as they chanted anti-government songs from Agbowo to Samonda, Sango and Mokola areas of the city.
They called for the resignation of the Minister of Education, Rukayat Rufai, and displayed placards with inscriptions such as ‘Nigeria: Giant or dwarf of Africa?’, ‘Adieu to education in Nigeria’, ‘ASUU don’t betray this struggle with earned allowances’, ‘Education is dead in Nigeria,’ among others.
Security agencies, led by the Divisional Police Officer, Sango, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Akinfenwa, monitored the procession.
The students took turns to express their displeasure with poor handling of education in the country and described the posture of President Goodluck Jonathan to the sector as disappointing.
The UI Students Union Government President, Babatunde Badmus, who backed the ongoing ASUU strike, called for prompt implementation of the contentious Federal /ASUU agreement.
A statement read by Badmus urged the Federal Government to ensure that the budgetary allocation to education was increased to 26 per cent in line with UNESCO standard.
The statement read, “The UNESCO recommends that minimum of 26 per cent of the budgetary allocation in developing countries be devoted to education. Instead, Nigeria government scarcely allocates less than 10 per cent of its budgets to education. We want ASUU to prioritize the revitalization of quality education”.
