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| President of NUT Michael Alogba threatens strike over Ebola danger at schools. |
There is an Ebola war going on currently between the Nigerian Union of Teachers(NUT) and the Nigerian Government which could end up in teachers
going on strike nationwide..The Nigerian Government and the NUT had previously agreed for students all over the nation to resume on the 13th of October.When both parties agreed it would be safe to do so.But the Federal government suddenly made a U turn in an announcement by the Minister of Education, Ibrahim Shekarau asking for the students to resume on the 22nd of September instead.
The NUT feel it is not yet safe to do so and has not been proven safe to do so.They believe their lives and the lives of the students could be in danger.Also the NUT believe influential school teachers have put pressure on the government to fast forward the resumption date.
Would the school owners be so selfish and risk lives of teachers and students for financial gain?Well i wont put nothing past all these selfish people,would be sad though if that would be the case.
The National NUT leader,Mr Michael Alogba has said rather than be endangered by Ebola virus ,they will go on a strike if they have to..this is what Michael Alogba said to the punch...
“In any sane society, decision such as this will not be taken until the government and all stakeholders have met and discussed the issue at stake and are sure that the nation is scientifically and medical free from the scourge.But this is not the case in our country. When they arrived at the early October 13 date, they wrote us and we agreed with their argument but when this new date was given, they did not because of the influence of some powerful school owners who put pressure on them (Federal Government) to announce the September 22 date....
“Anyway, we have written to tell them that if the Federal Government does not shift the date and provide all necessary safety measures in schools before Monday next week, all NUT leaders will meet in Abuja by 9am on Tuesday to decide our fate by ourselves. “Though I don’t want to preempt the outcome of the meeting but as teachers who have families and who should protect our future, I mean our students, we will shun the classes; we will call for strike.What kind of government is this, don’t they know that children can never be as hygienic as adults? Don’t they know that the immunity level of children is not as high as that of adults? Why do you want to open schools when you have not cleared out the virus; when you still have about 400 people under surveillance in Port Harcourt and Lagos?
“You are aware of what is happening at the Obafemi Awolowo University. How are we sure that there is no primary or secondary school pupil that has had contact with an Ebola patient.It’s good that the NMA (Nigerian Medical Association) has spoken and we have told them too that we would not cooperate with them. That is why we are going to take a drastic action on Tuesday to protect ourselves and our children.I can tell you that we will shun schools; we won’t cooperate with them. In other words, we will embark on strike.”