Peeved by almost two-month old strike by the Academic Staff
Union of universities (ASUU), 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.
The students said if the impasse was not resolved within the next seven
days, it will mobilise 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.”
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