Absence of ASUU Strikes an Answer to My Prayers - President Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu said on Tuesday in Abuja that the absence of strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) under his administration amounts to an answer to his prayers. The President made the remarks while receiving members of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa. Acknowledging the economic difficulties Nigerians have faced during his time in office, Tinubu maintained that the country is stabilising and that better days lie ahead. "I inherited the assets and liabilities of my predecessor, and I've been running with it. But this government has stabilised, and there is prosperity on the horizon. The quality of life is improving," he said. He pointed to the absence of ASUU strikes as a concrete sign of improvement in the lives of Nigerian families, noting that university students today can complete their four-year programmes without disruption. "None of your children in university today, and I would say they are all your children because you are Reverend Fathers, can say a four-year course is not four years. ASUU is not on strike. They are not bringing agony to your homes. Is that not an answer to our prayers? To me, that's an answer," he said. His comments come against the backdrop of ASUU's long history of industrial action in Nigeria's public universities. Between 1999 and 2022, the union embarked on strikes that collectively cost more than five years of academic time, with the longest a nine-month strike occurring in 2022. Tinubu noted that no extended ASUU strike has occurred since he took office in May 2023, a period that has also seen the launch of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). On security, the President said, "The security situation is what it is. We don't have another country but here. This Nigeria. And we revert to our national anthem, in its complexity, diversity, we shall thrive, rejoice and be good to all of us." The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria, established in 1956, remains one of the country's most influential religious organisations, with a strong presence in education, healthcare and social services across the predominantly Christian south and parts of the north.