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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has said governance in Nigeria has continued to retrogress as the situation is now worse than what was obtainable forty years ago.
This is according to the union's President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, who spoke at the 2024 edition of the ASUU State of the Nation Conference held in Abuja on Thursday, October 3, 2024.
The conference, themed 'Nigeria in a State of General Crisis: The Search for a New Path to Development,' was convened to deliberate on the country's deteriorating situation and offer solutions aimed at restoring hope and development.
Osodeke described the current state of the nation as hopeless due to prevalent corruption and poor leadership.
He called for the overhauling of Nigeria's governance system, which he claimed is controlled by foreign interests and only benefits a select few.
The ASUU President expressed disappointment that Nigerian citizens have continued to suffer in poverty despite the country's wealth, demanding that the nation's resources be deployed for the common good.
“As the nation marks its 64th independence anniversary, it is disheartening to note that the situation today is worse than it was in 1984,” Osodeke said.
He noted that the union's mission isn't limited to demanding improved conditions for its members, but also includes protecting and advancing the socio-economic and cultural interests of the Nigerian people.
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He said ASUU was established in 1978 to champion the aforementioned causes and it has continued to organise national fora aimed at generating ideas for better governance.
Reflecting on the maiden edition of the ASUU State of the Nation Conference held at the University of Benin in 1984, Osodeke drew a parallel between the economic plights of Nigerians in that period and the current situation.
He lamented that the failure of successive governments to implement resolutions from the conference forty years ago has contributed to the challenges of the present day.