The Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) has called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu to make as one of its priorities, a determination never to allow Academic Union of Universities (ASUU) and other education unions to embark on strike again.
Miftaudeen Thanni, immediate past Amir of MSSN, Lagos State Area Unit, made the call on Sunday during its Annual Conference, which was held on Sunday at the Main Auditorium of the University of Lagos.
According to him, investing in the education sector is not a luxury but a necessity.
“As we move into a new dispensation of ‘Renewed Hope’ in our national polity, we are urging the Federal Government to pay more attention and improve on the education investment.
“We don’t want strikes again and this can be achieved by investing more in education
“It’s a way to invest in peace, as educated individuals are more likely to embrace dialogue, reject extremism, and work towards resolving conflicts through peaceful means.
“The government should realise that paying the utmost attention to education is as important as the economy, a well-educated population forms the backbone of a thriving economy.
“We are reminding President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to prioritise education, youth empowerment, security of lives and property, economic and infrastructural development.
”Effective synergy and fostering of unity across ethnoreligious lines, while we commend him on the students’ loan bill signed into law and await the fruits of other economic policies of the government.
These measures will go a long way in fueling innovation, fosters entrepreneurship, and drives sustainable development,” he added.
Speaking, during the programme with the theme, ‘Renaissance’, Mr Niyi Yusuf, Chairman, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) explained ‘Renaissance’ as revival, renewal or an attempt to bring something back that was very good in the past and make it active again.
Yusuf, who was the keynote speaker at the event, represented by Raji Abdulganiy, charged young Muslims to exploit their youthful age and make meaningful contributions in the society and seek to restore glorious days of Islam.
“This topic reminds us of when Muslims were respected, admired, seen as the solutions to problems of the world, best physicians, best scholars and best practices in various field.
“Today, when someone has a health-related issues, that cannot get handled in Nigeria, the person will be referred to China or Indian, how often do we advise to go to Saudi-Arabia or China
“But there were days that Muslim state, communities like Bagdad, modern day Iraq, Spain and Egypt were the places people were running to when they have health issues
“But what is happening today?.
“That even what we consume as Muslims are either China or Indian made, how often do we see things made in Saudi-Arabia and other countries where we have Muslims.
“This is the why this topic is important, to find out what happened and think a way to restore our glorious past, be concerned about our society.
“As youths the time has come for us to stop taking the back sit in leadership positions because are still very young, some of our prophets were still very young when they stated contributing to Islam,” he added.
