As the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) begins its nationwide protest over the prolonged strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), some Nigerian students are not optimistic that the strike will be called off anytime soon.
University lecturers in Nigeria have been on strike for over five months with no end in sight.
To pressure the government to resolve the strike and other bad governance issues, the NLC announced on 17 July that it would stage a nationwide protest on 26 and 27 July, 2022.
ASUU’s demands include implementation of the 2020 Memorandum of Action (MoA) on funding for revitalisation of public universities, renegotiation of the 2009 federal government/ASUU agreement and the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).
The union recently noted that with the strike entering its fifth month, some public universities in the country may consider cancelling an academic session and merging 2021 and 2022 admission exercises.
This means that the children of average Nigerians and the underprivileged have lost a semester, and there are real possibilities that they might end up losing a session, for no fault of theirs.
The Nigerian authorities have since come out to declare the planned protest ‘illegal’, citing a security report also by the Department of State Services (DSS).
That, however, did not stop the nationwide protest from commencing on Tuesday in major cities, including Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Ilorin and Makurdi.
A Food Science Technology student of the Abia State University, Melody Godfery, told Development Diaries that she finds it ‘really crazy’ that students have been at home for months without learning.
‘I don’t even know my stand right now, I don’t know if I’m going forward or backwards. If not for the strike I’m supposed to be in my 400 level, talking about graduating in a year’s time, but right now I don’t even know my stand’, Godfrey said.
A 400 level student of Accounting at the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, Favour Eromosele, who urged the government to acquiesce to ASUU’s demand, said he had little hope the authorities would actually do so.
‘Yes, I’m in support of [the NLC protest]. It’s obvious that our government does not care about our feelings, but I hope it works’, Eromosele said.
‘The strike has affected me in various ways. Firstly, it has made me inactive academically, staying away from the four walls of the university has caused me to lose interest in academics given the delay ASUU has always put us through’.
For Taiwo Abogan, who is a student of English and Literary Studies at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, she is not confident that the NLC march for ASUU would result in a positive outcome.
‘To me I don’t think this (the protest) is going to work because they’ve been lots of protests concerning this strike and still they did not yield any good results’, Abogan said.
Meanwhile, on social media, some students are already showing signs of lethargy and lack of enthusiasm towards university education.
One of them, Olaposi Mathew, tweeting from @mathewolaposi, said, ‘Don’t mind them; when they’re broke they will come out for strike. [A]fter that, negotiation will follow with government. Everything [will] die down’.
Don’t mind them when they’re broke they will come out for strike after that negotiate will follow with government Everything we die down.
— Olaposi Mathew (@mathewolaposi) July 26, 2022
Another Twitter user, Treasure Christopher (@TreasureIrikef1), said, ‘If they don’t want to call off the strike they should rest…’.
Abeg make una no dey worry person the time to resume school Don comot for my mind na bbn dey sweet me. The fight between amake and phyna is important now e pass this protest. If they dont want to call off the strike they should rest abeg no be only sch i come do for this life.
— Treasure Irikefee Christopher (@TreasureIrikef1) July 26, 2022
The revitalisation of the universities and improved welfare for lecturers are legitimate and should be treated as such by the President Buhari administration. Many public universities have poorly equipped laboratories, dilapidated lecture halls and hostels. Equally legitimate is the union’s demand for lecturers’ earned allowances.
The president had said that his greatest legacy to his children was to ensure they were ‘properly educated’. However, millions of Nigerian students are stranded at home and are unable to get proper education.
President Buhari should also bequeath the same ‘education legacy’ to the average Nigerian by making accelerated and concerted efforts to end the strike.
Photo source: FUOYESUG
