The Vice Chancellor of Babcock University Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, Prof. James Makinde, has cautioned the National Association of Nigerian Students not to disrupt academic activities in the country’s private universities.
Makinde, who spoke at a briefing in Akure, Ondo State after the Western Union of Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Nigeria elected its new leaders, warned NANS members not to disrupt studies in private varsities.
Members of the association, on Saturday, threatened to disrupt studies in the institutions if the Federal Government did not address ASUU’s demands.
Noting that the plans by NANS could bring down the nation’s education sector, Makinde stressed that private institution students were not part of the association.
The appeal came as teachers in the nation’s public universities embarked on strike last July 2 to protest against the non-payment of their earned allowances as well as the non-implementation of the agreement they had with the Federal Government in 2009.
Meanwhile, final medical students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in Osun State and the Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria have urged the striking university lecturers to call off the ongoing strike.
Some of the OAU medical students, who spoke to one of our correspondents, said the industrial action has stopped them from graduation.
According to the students who craved anonymity, the strike has frustrated their programme and hindered their induction as doctors.
The action, they added, had prevented them from commencing their one-year houseman-ship in various hospitals across the country. One of the students said, “The dream of every university student is to, one day, finish and finish well. For an OAU student, there is more: to finish not too later than the normal appointed time for a course. For a medical student in OAU, there is even more: to finish in a not-too-late time and in addition get a houseman-ship placement.
“Beyond the wasted bags of rice and kilos of meat and dated souvenirs made in anticipation of the induction, there lies an important document the fresh medical graduates must possess. It is only the induction, which was cancelled as a fallout of the ASUU strike, that could provide it. That document is called the licence, which is the guaranteed tool a doctor can be permitted to work with in Nigeria.”
In a related development, thousands of students embarked on a peaceful protest at Choba Junction near the University of Port Harcourt over the industrial action.
The students, who said they were tired of staying at home, appealed to the striking lecturers to embrace peace by accepting what the FG had offered them.
One of the students, identified as Chimankpa, said the strike was affecting their academic year.
