N350,000 tuition fee a bad dream
If the allegation by the National president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Biodun Ogunyemi, that the federal government is planning to force students in public universities to pay N350,000 tuition fee per session is true, then I am short of words. I just hope it’s not true, because as it would clearly […]
If the allegation by the National president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Biodun Ogunyemi, that the federal government is planning to force students in public universities to pay N350,000 tuition fee per session is true, then I am short of words. I just hope it’s not true, because as it would clearly show insensitivity and non-challance on the part of government to the survival of the ordinary citizen. As if the many troubles of the masses are not enough, it would be awfully ridiculous to imagine such an abomination. The people are suffering enough and deserve some empathy from those who now find themselves in positions of authority.
Suleiman Awodi, Okene, Kogi State
Could David Mark make a mark?
I keep wondering what former senate president and presidential aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), David Mark, has up his sleeves by picking the PDP form for presidential primary. He said he would revamp Nigeria’s economy within two years and halt the security challenge if voted into office. Well, every aspirant has his own promises as is common on the political arena, but the problem really is in terms of delivery. My major fear for David Mark is the general complaint against him that he failed to properly impact on his people while being in the senate for 16 years and being senate president for eight years. They people complain of improper representation just as Otukpo, the capital of Idoma land, remains what it was 2o years ago. I wonder how this will help Mark to make a mark in the presidential race.
Adeyemi Awosika, Ketu, Lagos
Politics of young and old generations
If the assertion by a former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, that it is insulting to suggest a feud between him and incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is anything to go by, one wonders why he appears to be no longer at terms with Ambode, or is Ambode amused that his challenger, Mr Sanwo-Olu, has the backing of Tinubu and the Lagos APC? How else does one describe the current relationship between them in the context of the present situation and political atmosphere in Lagos? What it all goes to show is that the old generation of politicians are still holding a firm grip of power in the country, and the impression that they want the younger generation to rise politically is farfetched. We still need to grapple with the political clout of the old generation and dance to their tunes, that’s the logic.
Idrissa Ahmad, Badagry, Lagos
On the new minimum wage agitation
I am sitting down quietly awaiting the outcome of negotiations between labour leaders and the federal government on the new minimum wage and trying to figure out how the fate of unemployed Nigerians is being considered in the light of possible rise in prices of goods and services after the increase is effected. While it is good to think that workers need better wages, it is also good to be mindful of the aftermath of the possible increase as people who are not working at all would still have to face imminent inflation accompanying the wage increase alongside salary earners. It therefore goes to suggest that government should put in place a price control mechanism to prevent arbitrary hike in prices of essential commodities as soon as it approves the wage increase.
Dorothy Amani, Kado, Abuja