Professor Victor Osodeke, president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), revealed yesterday that many lecturers in Nigerian universities have emigrated to other countries to further their careers because the federal government has been unable to address the ongoing crisis in the education sector.
Asked about the number of members who have left the nation, Osodeke responded: "We don't have a specific data, but a huge number of our members have gone out of the country because of the way they are being treated, not because they dislike this country. You believe that the greatest strategy is to take their salaries; nevertheless, there is no nation in the world where their professors will go on strike.
“When we were on the strike, lecturers in the United Kingdom went on strike, it didn’t take two days for them to resolve it, the Ghanaians went on strike and they resolved it. But here, they felt nonchalant and you know why? Because they do not commit, their children are not here, they are not Nigerians, their children are abroad, and their families are abroad.
“We see the children of President, children of Senators, children of Governors having their convocation and you see other Governors coming to rejoice with them, so you have leaders who do not have any feelings for the children of the poor.
“ASUU will go as far till they (FG) are ready to answer. We also appeal to Nigerians, the beauty of this, is that their lives are in their hands. In the next five to six months from now, there will be an election, they should hold their PVC, and all those who have subjected them to this crisis should be voted out. It is their right they voted them in, they can’t be at home while their children will be enjoying education outside the country. This is their right they should use their PVC.”