The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has spoken out against Adamu Adamu, Minister of Education, receiving a national honour.
According to BizWatch Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari has named 437 Nigerians to be honored on October 11 — and Adamu is one of them.
The minister will be made a Commander of the Order of Niger (CON).
In a statement issued on Monday, NANS spokesperson Giwa Temitope said the move “is a clear indication that Nigerian students have been duped.”
NANS blamed Adamu for the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) eight-month strike, saying the Nigerian education sector had “completely collapsed” under him.
“It constitutes an insult to the collective intelligence of Nigerian students both home and in the diaspora that the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu under whose nose University students have been home for close to 8 months is to be awarded the National Honours of Commander of the Order of Niger (CON),” the statement reads.
“This singular act of the Buhari’s administration is a clear pointer to the fact that Nigerian students have been taken for a ride. And, we see this as the final straw that breaks the back of the camel of Buhari’s much-touted integrity.
“Over the years, successive administrations in the country have shown to the Nigerian people that the National Honours is more of recognition of patronage than recognition of excellence.
“But, Maj. Gen. Buhari (rtd.) (sic) has taken a step further to show to the mass of Nigerian students that we are not on the priority list of the administration.
“It is so unfortunate that a country which offered so much in hope and possibilities at independence has today become a land of suffering, insecurity and near hopelessness signposted by youth unemployment and an underfunded educational sector.
“In a functioning country, both the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige who shamefully walked out of a meeting with the national leadership of ASUU at the instance of the House of Representatives and his Education counterpart would have been fired before now.
“But, the reverse is the case as Adamu Adamu under whose watch the educational sector of the country has totally collapsed is to be recognised with a National Honours for a job well done.”
According to the organization, students will return to the streets “in protest of the federal government’s recklessness.”
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