Professor Mustapha Gimba, a political science professor at the University of Jos, criticized the Federal Government on Thursday for taking the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to the industrial court and obtaining a favorable ruling.
He added that professors have inherent human rights that must be respected and that the Federal Government cannot threaten and then threaten teachers into returning to class.
Professor Gimba, a former political adviser in the administration of the former president Goodluck Jonathan, said that forcing mature, honorable men to testify in front of a court of law would not bring out their greatest qualities, but instead would result in a constant, unreliable brain.
According to BROOMHOME, the Abuja Industrial Court had mandated that academics report to work.
The National President of ASUU, Emmanuel Osodeke, had replied to the court ruling by stating that professors cannot be forced to attend courses in the event of a National Industrial Court of Arbitration order.
Since you may drive a donkey to the river, but you cannot compel it to drink water, Professor Gimba encouraged the court and the Federal Government to reverse their judgment and make one that is in the best interest of the students and the professors.
“Forcing lecturers to restart lectures is not in their best interests, as academia, fathers of university students, and lecturers for years in practice. If instructors’ expectations are not met, students could not get what they desired, the speaker warned.
He claimed that the administration had caused professors enormous difficulty and that all issues needed to be resolved calmly and respectfully.