US expresses worries over ASUU/FG impasse

United States has expressed worry over the
lingering feud between the Federal
Government and the striking public
universities' lecturers over their demand for
better working conditions.
The US also warned against the activities of
touts who deceive intending students from
Nigeria.
Addressing journalists on Wednesday in
Abuja, the US Embassy Cultural Affairs
Officer, Bill Strassberger, urged the
government to resolve the crisis with the
Academic Staff Union of Universities, saying
"it is a fear, it is a worry for us."
Nigeria currently has about 7,028 students
studying at over 700 institutions in the USA.
He said, "That is something for the Nigerian
government. It is up to it to work it out with
the striking lecturers.
"We are not involved in that negotiation but
we can encourage. It is a fear, it is a worry
for us because that would make it hard for
the students to come.
"It may be difficult, but there is no magic
wand to resolve the strike," Strassberger
added.
Advising Nigerians to shun those who
parade themselves as agents, Strassberger
said accurate information regarding
studying in the US could be obtained from
the embassy.
"Those are the touts, those are the people
that I will even call criminals because they
are stealing opportunities by selling only
documents by giving bad information and
creating a disappointment when the person
comes in with that information or with only
document. And that is the result of not
getting accurate information," he said.
Earlier, the Head, EducationUSA, Jennifer
Onyukwu, said the ASUU's strike would
affect intending students from Nigeria who
wish to study in the US because of the need
to obtain their transcripts.
"There is that concern because generally, the
world has become a global village, people
want stronger applicants in their campuses;
so they want stronger senders," she said.
Onyukwu revealed that from statistics,
Nigeria was US's largest sender of students
from sub-saharan Africa to the US.