Nigerian students block highway over prolonged varsity lecturers’ strike
LAGOS, Nigeria (The Informant247) – Nigerian students on Tuesday blocked Lagos-Ibadan Expressway over the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The students blocked the road at the Sagamu Interchange section of the road.
For almost seven months, students in federal government-owned universities have been stuck at home, forced out of class by a protracted strike by lecturers.
The protest over pay, welfare and crumbling facilities by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has shut down universities since February 14 in the latest industrial action by academic workers in public universities across Africa’s most populous nation.
The union’s leadership, however, declared an indefinite strike earlier this month after several extensions to give the government time to meet their demands.
The latest strike is the second longest. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, Nigerian university teachers went on strike for nine months – the longest in the nation’s history.
The largest student body in Nigeria had earlier in a statement on Monday said it is ready to shut down the economy of the country by blocking the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The body, National Association of Nigerian Students also passed a vote of no confidence on the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Education, Adamu Adamu.
NANS said, “For over 6 months, the Academic Staff Union of Universities has been on strike thereby paralysing academic activities on campus. Unfortunately, the Federal Government has been inconsiderate to the feelings of Nigerian Students which shows that the academic pursuit of students is of no relevance to this administration.
“It beats logic that government sets up new universities but downplays the welfare of the teachers resulting in a shutdown of universities stretching into over 6 months with no end in sight. A fortnight ago, a university lecturer committed suicide all because of the failure of the government to prioritise his well-being leaving behind 3 kids. The question is, what would be the fate of the kids he left behind?
“Since the inception of this administration, we have seen how meagre sum is allocated to the educational sector. We have seen how the Minister of Labour and his Education counterpart have been locking horns with members of ASUU over this prolonged strike with no meaningful end in sight. In all these, the Senate Committee on Tertiary education is lost.
“It is based on the foregoing that we declare a protest against the prolonged ASUU strike which has ultimately affected the progress of Nigerian students for the past 6 months. And, we also pass a vote of no confidence on the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige and Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.”
The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), on Monday, adjourned the suit brought before it by the Nigerian Government challenging the ongoing strike action by the university staff till September 16, 2022, for further mention.
