Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has described the proposed Muhammadu Buhari University as a disaster.
Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari had announced over the weekend at a townhall meeting in Yola, Adamawa State that she planned to establish a private university to be named after her husband in partnership with foreigners.
ASUU chairman, University of Ibadan, Prof. Deji Omole and former ASUU national treasurer, Prof. Ademola Aremu told journalists in Ibadan that Buhari should immortalise himself by revatalising public-funded education.
Aremu said: “I don’t think that she is serious. We already have proliferation of universities and they are not taken care of. Since they are policy makers, they will now formulate policies that will ground public universities aground for their interest to thrive.
“I thought we have actually left that era. I could remember that Obasanjo established Bells and we condemned it. Atiku established his own as former Vice President.
“If you have private interest, you should not hold public office. If you have interest in anything private, I think it is proper to actually leave the public space for those who want to eager to serve the masses. How many people can afford the existing private universities existing in the country? If you want to help education, then increase the capacity of the existing ones.”
Omole said: “When I also heard about the proposed private university to be named after Mr President, I just looked at it as a joke taken too far.
“If we have a president in a country that has simply refused to fund public education and all we get from the family of the first lady is to establish a private university in collaboration with some foreigners, to me I think it is a disaster for this country and for a sitting president.”
