A former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, on Friday in Minna appealed to the striking university lecturers to call off their strike in the collective interest of the country.
He made the call when he paid a Sallah visit to Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger in accompany of a former Head of State, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.
Abdulsalami said the striking lecturers had made their points and therefore, should end the strike.
The strike which began on July 1 entered 110 days on Friday.
“I appeal to everybody to give peace a chance. Let the striking lecturers sheathe their swords.
“The government should also resolve issues at stake as fast as possible. Just like former President Babangida said, I believe strike is normal all over the world.
“But in Nigeria, we are over doing it; strike in advance countries is for hours or few days to draw attention to their plights, ’’ Abdulsalami said.
Giving a word of advice to the government, he said:“In turn, the government must look into the issues to see that legitimate demands are met regardless of the dwindling resources.
“The lecturers too should consider the government’s coffers and be reasonable in their demands.
“They should review their stand as they had made their points and I believe the government is listening.”
On security challenges facing the country, Abdulsalami urged Nigerians to play their roles as citizens by providing useful information and tips on the activities of criminals to relevant agencies.
“The government in turn should protect its sources of information.
“Without peace you cannot have a nation, without peace you cannot start looking for daily bread, and without peace you cannot go on strike.
“It is absolutely necessary that we join hands with the government to ensure that we have a peaceful nation,” he added.
Gov. Aliyu thanked the two elder statesmen for the visit, noting that their wealth of experience had served as a useful guiding light to his administration.
“The administration has benefited immensely from your wealth of experience,’’ he said.
