Nigerians slam Gbajabiamila over Harvard enrollment as ASUU strike lingers

July 27, 2022 3 min read

Some Nigerians have taken to social media to berate the Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila for embarking on a leadership course in the United States at a time the country’s education sector was facing imminent collapse

Gbajabiamila had posted photos of himself in class on Twitter on Tuesday at John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard Business School.

His post coincided with the Nigeria Labour Congress’s protest nationwide in solidarity with university lecturers who have been on strike for over five months over poor wages and conditions of service among other issues.

President Buhari last week directed Education minister, Adamu Adamu to resolve the matter promptly as frustration mounted nationwide due to the prolonged closure of public universities that has left hundreds of thousands of students at sea apart from attendant threat to future opportunities on account of age as a normal four year course has now lasted for six on aggregate due to incessant strikes and crisis in the ivory towers.

“Back to class. In a leadership course @havard @Kennedy_school. Forget the number of grey hairs, one is never too old to learn,” Gbajabiamila said.

The Speaker has been accused by social media users of being insensitive to the plight of the lecturers on strike under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) with some wondering if he would have had the opportunity to enrol for the course if Harvard were to be on strike.

Below are some of the reactions on Twitter:

ASUU has been on strike since February but Nigeria’s no. 3 man, Femi Gbajabiamila is doing a leadership course abroad and now splashing the pictures on social media. The audacity and tone-deafness.

— Bankole Adebayo A. (@AdeBanqie) July 26, 2022

Back to class. In a leadership course at @Harvard @Kennedy_School . Forget the number of grey hairs one is never too old to learn, broaden or sharpen your skills pic.twitter.com/br1Pqjyq8q

— Femi Gbajabiamila (@femigbaja) July 26, 2022

That Femi Gbajabiamila’s tweet is still pissing me off. So insensitive and tone deaf. Our leaders are truly wicked people.

If Harvard too was on strike would he be in school?

— JAG II, Esq. (@jagganiyu) July 26, 2022

Abandoning your duty here as the speaker of the house. One of the many reasons the senate/ the house should have been on a part time affairs.

— Aake Ogun ati Aake Ina (@ifGodbifomi) July 26, 2022

Congratulations Rt.Hon on your commitment to learning & self improvement.

My only worry is on the chances of 31 million Nig students who depend on public universities to have this opportunity.

What have you done about the 5months strike in your country ???

— Crown Prince of Abuja (@UkoAkpanEtuk) July 26, 2022

Isn’t that something? Our children have been at home for months because of #ASUU strikes & you have the luxury to travel abroad to study leadership at @Harvard.

— Ive Diiche (@IDiiche) July 27, 2022