ASUU STRIKE: Blame finance minister
By Dele Sobowale This is a government that signed an agreement with us on January 24, 2012, to the effect that they would inject N100 bn as funding into the universities in the first month; and that before the end of 2012, they would inject another N300 bn.” Dr Olusegun Ajiboye, ASUU University of Ibadan branch chairman, August 14, 2013. Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala increasingly is cutting a sorry figure as Finance Minister. And nothing has demonstrated this fact more than her utterances on the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU. To start with, she announced, as if it was true, that government cannot pay the N92 billion causing the present palaver. She turned out to be wrong on three counts at least – none of which does her reputation as a global financial expert any good. It was poor defence and exposed her as someone who did not do her homework very well before commenting on a vital national issue. First, as Dr Ajiboye pointed out, N92 billion represented a figment of...