Nigerian students have had enough of staying at home
due to the ASUU strike and they have made this clear by
speaking out.
As a result of the almost two month old strike, the
National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS),
yesterday issued a one-week ultimatum to the Federal
Government and the union’s leadership to resolve their
differences or face serious consequences.
According to reports, the students said if the impasse was
not resolved within the next seven days, it will mobilize
students on a nation-wide riot in what it described as
‘operation occupy Nigeria’.
The students’ body appealed to ASUU to return to the
classroom and continue negotiation with the Federal
Government since the latter claimed to have released over
N100 billion for infrastructural development and another
N30 billion for allowances.
This was the highpoint of a protest by the students who
blocked the Asaba end of the River Niger Bridge to press
home their demands. The protest caused traffic snarl for
several hours as the students stalled movements to the
eastern part of the country even as those returning were
barred.
NANS coordinator in the South-South and South-East,
Comrade Chinonso Obasi, stated that students were at the
receiving end of the strike and vowed that they would
take their destinies in their own hands if the parties failed
to reconcile within a week.
“We are appealing to ASUU that since the Federal
Government has been able to release N100 billion for
infrastructural development and N30 billion for allowance,
they should go back to classroom and continue their
negotiation or agitation. This is our prayer and wish.
“We are giving them one week to open the schools or be
ready to face corrosive consequences in form of nation-
wide demonstration and riots. We are ready to mobilise
for that and it will be operation occupy Nigeria,” he said.
Lamenting the effect of the strike, Obasi said students
have become prone to accidents on the highways and the
female students have been reduced to sex hawkers on
the streets.
His words: “I stand to tell you that a lot of accidents have
been recorded and 99.9% of the victims are Nigerian
students. If they were in classrooms, they would not have
fallen victims of road crashes.
“Our female students have become commercial sex
hawkers on the streets in order to make ends meet. This
colossal effect is more than what ASUU is agitating for.
Hence, we can no longer fold our arms and watch things
go wrong.”