ASUU President, Osodeke, Says Three State-Owned Varsities  Not On Strike Are Quacks

By Ayodele Oni

As backlashes and condemnation continue to trail remarks by the president Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU), Prof Emmanuel Osodeke for allegedly calling state owned universities quacks, there seems to be a twist to the statement.

Osodeke has debunked the report making the rounds that it named universities owned by State governments quack, saying he was misquoted.

Several media platforms were on Friday flooded with reactions to purported assertion by the ASUU President that state universities are quack and should not be taken seriously.

Prof Osodeke was reported on Thursday while speaking on Arise Television where he addressed some issues regarding the ongoing industrial action embarked upon by ASUU over six months ago to have made the remark.

Speaking about some State universities that recently pulled out of the struggle, the ASUU president said, “talk about important universities not those quacks. They’re not part of our strike”

The development has triggered backlash from some State universities and concerned Nigerians who lambasted the ASUU president for allegedly naming State universities ‘quack’.

Ekiti State University, (EKSU) in its reaction, stated that with that statement coming from Osodeke, he was bereft of ideas.

“This arrant nonsense coming from  Comrade Osodeke is totally unacceptable and condemnable.”

The Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University (UNIOSUN), Prof Odunayo  Adebooye, while reacting, described ASUU president as a careless talker by way of announcing universities that are no longer on strike are ‘quacks’.

Prof Adebooye stated the State university has 481 full-time educational workforce and among them, 387 are full-time Ph.D. holders, “this is now not a quack.”

Speaking with journalists on Saturday, the ASUU president debunked the report saying he was misquoted by the media.

According to Osodeke, he was referring to only three universities owned by State governments which are currently not on strike.

Describing the report as fake, Osodeke lamented unprofessionalism in reportage, alleging that the media aimed at creating confusion in the system.

“There is nothing like that. It is a lie. I have told myself that I will not talk to the press again because they always misrepresent things.

“I have found out that Nigerian press is specialized in manipulating interviews, reporting what someone did not say just to create confusion in the system. They won’t report things the way it is.”