Former Academic Staff Union of Universities leader Festus Iyayi was laid to rest in Edo yesterday. Extolling the virtues of the academic, Independent National Electoral Commission chairman, Attahiru Jega said Iyayi had tremendous integiry and passion for Nigeria’s development.
Jega said, “I worked very closely with Festus Iyayi. He was like a brother to me. He is one of the few Nigerians that I have known, who have tremendous integrity and passion for progress and development of our country as one united country.
“He made tremendous sacrifices for the development of this country and reforms that can help ordinary Nigerians.
“It is a very sad loss to us, especially people who have know him for a long time. It is a sad loss for this country. This country has lost a gem; one of the best and patriotic Nigerian.”
Also, the Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomle said Ugbegun Grammar School in Ugbegun, Edo State would be rebuilt and named after the late academic and writer.
Oshiomole said: “Some of the things we can remember about the late Iyayi are his consistency, commitment and doggedness and he paid the ultimate sacrifice. He lived and died in the struggle and therefore we can say in truth that the struggle was his life.
“We celebrate that God used him and his colleagues in ASUU such that today in every home the issue of the state of education is on the front burner. It will no longer be convenient to downgrade the issue of education and because the future of a country is defined by its education and its human capital, what Iyayi and his colleagues have done and are doing is to put our future on discourse,” he said.
He added: “how do we remember him? How do we immortalise his name? When I visited his family house this morning (yesterday), I said since Iyayi was also a contributor to how a worker could become the governor of Edo State, now that a worker is now the governor of the state, this community of Ugbegun, by next Monday I will deploy one of our industrial rigs to provide a water scheme which will be named as Festus Iyayi Water Scheme for the benefit of the people of this community.
“Iyayi struggled for the proper position of education and education is only about nations. The people of Edo State will agree with me that one of the areas that government has tried to make a difference is rebuilding public schools that are as attractive as any private school in the state.
“I also want therefore that this school called Ugbegun Secondary School beginning with the new budget which begins in January and by the special grace of God not later than February, we would have passed through all the processes and we will build this school to the new standard of Edo State. The school will be renamed Festus Iyayi Memorial Secondary School.”