OPEN LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN STUDENTS (NANS)



TO; 
THE PRESIDENT (NANS)
COM.BAMIDELE DANIELSON AKPAN,
NASARAWA STATE UNIVERSITY ,
KEFFI - LAFIA ROAD,
NASARAWA STATE.
NIGERIA.







                         TIME TO TAKE ACTION! 

Aluta greetings to you Distinguish President. I am writing to you in respect of the continuous closure of tertiary institutions in Nigeria and the attending challenges therein by the Federal Government due to Covid-19.

As at today Nigeria, has less than fifty thousand Covid-19 cases. Out of the average five hundred cases announced by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC)  on a daily basis, according to a report by Punch Newspaper "31-40years of age are susceptible to Covid-19". With this report, there is a high possibility that there are fewer cases of those with age 16-30 years. If you agree with me Mr president, that is the age group of most of my fellow compatriots on our campuses nationwide. Clearly, Nigerian students can go back to their lecture halls if safety protocols are provided. The idea of allowing senior secondary school students resume for WASSCE without consideration for their counterparts in higher institution is to say the least short sightedness and lack of real time crisis management prowess.

Covid-19 in my view is acute malaria, mixed with what cannot be immediately termed by me as I write this. Statistics show that Nigeria has 25% of the malaria burden in Africa If we choose to move on with malaria without closing our economy and schools then why should we close them now when we can even take safety precautions.

Mr president sir, while students overseas are using their institutions' laboratories for research to ensure that a vaccine is produced, ours are locked. Not even  final year students can  access them for their projects. Our system has reduced supposed solution providers to mere objects meant to be fed with all sorts. It is no news that most students just go to school for the sake of reading to pass. This kind of mental drain portends great danger to the survival of our dear country and the future is not assured.

Recall that some state governments made effort with online classes. Checks with friends from different parts of the country have shown that this is not working, as most school do not have the requisite facilities to achieve this basic change to achieve optimum results. This alone is enough to show you that we are not ready as a nation and if Covid-19 last for a year or even more, our institutions might remain under lock and key with no contribution whatsoever. 

Mr President Sir, I  am obliged to ask why your administration has been silent in the fight against Covid-19. I am not aware of any effort by your administration on this issue since genesis. I am persuaded to believe that you are not on the side of the millions of Nigerians on our campuses who are desperately looking for a way out as a number of them have opportunities that may be missed if something urgently is not done. The finalists are the worst hit.

In my opinion Sir, important actions to be taken are presented below. This is just the TIME TO TAKE ACTION;

1)A press conference addressing students that you have not forgotten them also to let them see reasons that your government stand with the students and not their age-long oppressors

 

2)There is a need for you to immediately arrange a meeting with all relevant stakeholders in government to discuss the immediate resumption of Nigerian students.




3)A need for Covid-19 palliatives for students, reduction in house rents and other utility bills that must have accumulated during this period



4)Immediate action on the reopening of tertiary institutions


Mr president I want you know that we can't continue to live in denial that this long break has not had a lot of negative impacts on the students and for a under-developed nation like ours, we should not jeopardize the future of our youths. 

Let me also remind you that if necessary steps is not taken by your leadership, it will be remembered for her cowardly display on important issue such as this. 

In conclusion, do not forget that posterity will judge us all. And if you want to write your name in NANS's good book of history, it would be better for you to do it right. And right now!

Yours in struggle,
Igbeyinadun Iyanuoluwa 
contactiyanuoluwa@gmail.com

Ok

Endorsed!

It's obvious that we have illiterates and shortsighted people in our federal government today!


Four months is enough for any smart thinking person to figure out the way out of this covid19 since it has clearly shown that it is not going away anytime soon, but our leaders have shown that they're incapable of thinking things out.

NANS
docile union