On Monday, Adamu Adamu, the education minister, walked out of an impromptu meeting with students under the auspices of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) over the ongoing strike in higher institutions of learning.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had, on February 14, embarked on a one-month warning strike owing to a failed agreement between the association and the federal government.
The students, who were led by Sunday Asefon, NANS president, had protested at the federal ministry of education in Abuja demanding an end to the industrial strike in universities.
Speaking at the meeting, Asefon claimed the minister publicly celebrated his son who graduated from a university abroad while being dispassionate about the incessant strike in Nigerian institutions.
“This is your second term in office, your salary will be paid. The salaries of the lecturers will be paid. We want to really know what is really happening,” the student leader said.
“Honourable minister, you celebrated your son who graduated in a country, in a university outside this country. We appreciate that. Our parents do not have that money to send us outside the country, but we are in this country. We should enjoy what we are paying for.
“We want adequate funding of education in this country, honourable minister, our message is that we want to go back to class. We want our schools to be open.”
In his terse reaction, the education minister said instead of protesting at the ministry, the students should have addressed the issues with their lecturers.
“Perhaps the only point that you made that is even worthy of attention is that you said students should be involved in this (discussion) and I think it’s probably a good thing,” Adamu said.
“And it’s the only thing I’m going to take from everything you have said here. Thank you.”
Then, the minister stood up and walked out of the meeting. The video of the meeting had become viral on social media.
Following the incident, several media outlets and social media users had claimed that Adamu walked out of the meeting because he felt insulted over Asefon’s statement concerning “his son’s graduation from a foreign university”.
A post published on a Twitter page — Koika Media — claimed that the minister walked out of the meeting because Asefon asked him about his children who is schooling in UK.
VERIFICATION
Checks by TheCable showed that the NANS president had possibly mistaken Adamu Rasheed, the executive secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), for the education minister.
A picture of Rasheed at the graduation of his son, who bagged a doctorate in engineering from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, had surfaced online in 2017.
The viral picture had generated backlash at the time because federal universities in the country were on an extended strike.
VERDICT
There is no proof that the education minister publicly celebrated his son’s graduation from a university abroad.
(The Cable)
