Education
NANS Gives FG, ASUU March 28 To Resolve Strike
National Association of Nigerian Students(NANS) has given the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU), till March 28 to resolve their differences and ensure that the union’s ongoing strike is called off or leave the students across the country with the option of the new university called ‘the University of the Street.
The university as created by the Federal Government and ASUU would have its main campus at the Airport Road, Annex Campuses in all the major roads in Abuja and Distance Learning Centres in all the federal roads across the 36 states of the federation.
In a statement, NANS’ President, Sunday Ashefon threatened that Nigerian students would take to the streets at the expiration of the ultimatum should the strike continue.
The statement said “i advise the Federal Government and ASUU, in their best interests, to reach a compromise between now and Monday, March 28, 2022 or risk our unprecedented fury.
“We hope the time between now and March 28 will afford our influential past leaders the window of opportunity to lobby their friends in government to see the danger our collective rage will cause the nation.
“The National Assembly should also do everything possible within this time to end the strike. Since they rejected the bill prohibiting public officers from sending their wards to institutions abroad, they have the mandate to make our public institutions work and now that they are failing in that responsibility, the public will respond appropriately.
“Should the strike continue after our ultimatum, students across the country will resume to the new university created by the Federal Government and ASUU called ‘The University of the Street’, with main campus on the Airport Road, annex campuses in all the major roads in Abuja and Distance Learning Centres in all the federal roads across the 36 states of the federation.
“I therefore direct students to bring their mattresses and cooking utensils while resuming in their new campus in Abuja and all the designated campuses across the country.”
The students’ body further passed a vote of no confidence on the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige and the Minister of Education, MallamAdamuAdamu, on their continued leadership in the government’s negotiation team.
According to the association”they are either incompetent to engage productively with ASUU at the highest level or they lack the goodwill and trust to build consensus and find an amicable resolution”.
By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu
A professor of Highway Engineering at the Rivers State University (RSU), Prof. Emmanuel Osilemme Ekwulo, has identified poor designs, inadequate materials, insufficient testing, and lack of accountability as major obstacles to the success of highway construction projects in the country.
Ekwulo made this remark in Port Harcourt last Wednesday during the 128th inaugural lecture series of the university, where he presented a lecture titled “Removing Roadblocks: Rebuilding a Foundation for Reliable Highway Pavement Infrastructure.”
The university don lamented the consistent premature failures of road construction projects nationwide, despite huge investments by the government at all levels, attributing the problem to neglected basics and systemic principles in the industry.
According to him, rebuilding the foundation technically, institutionally, and ethically is crucial to building strong and lasting pavements.
Ekwulo emphasized the need for political will, professional integrity, and commitment to engineering excellence to overcome the challenges.
“The metaphoric roadblocks are those challenges causing premature failures,” Ekwulo said, adding that identifying and addressing these roadblocks is key to rebuilding the nation’s highways.
He recommended that institutions involved in road design and construction adopt a mechanistic-empirical design approach, and develop a comprehensive framework for implementing the Nigerian Imperial and Mechanistic Pavement Design System (NEMPADS) approach.
Ekwulo also advocated for mandatory traffic load analysis, strengthened university-industry collaboration, and funding for applied pavement research.
Corruption, he noted, is a major challenge in the profession, saying severe punitive measures are needed to curb shabby practices leading to premature road failures.
The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi, described Ekwulo’s lecture as interesting and intriguing, highlighting the importance of implementing solutions to Nigeria’s highway challenges.
The Vice Chancellor also described Ekwulo’s proposals as practical and applicable to government and industry stakeholders.
He said the university is committed to research aligned with national development goals, referencing its NDV-12 responsive consortium production framework.
Zeb-Obipi noted that Ekwulo’s recommendations are timely and solution-driven, and will contribute to addressing Nigeria’s highway challenges.
Akujobi Amadi
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