On Thursday, Comrade Sunday Asefon, President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, accused Nigerian authorities of disregarding the plight of students affected by the Academic Staff Union of Universities' (ASUU) current strike action.
Comrade Asefon, who also claimed that the leaders have turned their attention to the 2023 general elections, assured that if the strike is not called off, his Union will disrupt the next primary elections of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
He remarked on Channels Television's 'Sunrise Daily' breakfast program, accusing the Federal Government of a lack of dedication and sincerity in resolving the standoff between it and the striking university workers.
"If we don't fight now, our unborn generation will inherit this situation," stated the NANS President, who also threatened that the University of the Streets demonstration, which began on Wednesday at the University of Benin, would spread nationally. Our university system has been on strike for over 40 years, and no government has been able to end it.
"Education is the backbone of our life, but our leaders, whom we elected to various political offices, are no longer debating it; instead, their attention is now focused on the 2023 elections." They simply care about themselves and their narrow interests. This month of May is crucial; after that, the focus will shift to February and March of next year, when the general election will take place. If we remain silent, they are more likely to forget about us.
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"It is sad that the majority of our leaders who obtained free education have turned a blind eye to the predicament of the sector that produced them." In their time they protested because their meals did not include chicken, not because the universities were either locked or falling apart.
"I'm not even sure the administration is aware of our threat to disrupt APC and PDP primary polls." The administration has yet to contact me. People will not believe until they see signs, according to the Bible, so perhaps FG is waiting for the signs, which will undoubtedly come if nothing is done to end the ongoing strike. What happened in Benin yesterday is one of the symptoms. Students are returning to the streets, and you will hear our tales across the country in a few days.
"We requested to be included in the negotiations to resolve the ASUU strike, and FG has refused," he stated.
He also promised to respond in action if the federal government tries to hijack the planned national protest, as it did with EndSARS, adding that the Union is fully prepared for nonviolent protests.
This comes as Issa Aremu, Director-General of the National Institute of Labour Studies, spoke on the program and asked for the formation of a National Labour Advisory Council to address the causes that lead to recurrent strikes in universities.
Source: Vanguard News
