NANS Hold Protest Against ASUU Strike, Block Lagos-Ibadan Expressway

Nigerian students under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) held a protest against the seven-month old ASUU strike today, September 13, 2022 and blocked the Lagos-Ibadan expressway. The angered students lamented in a statement that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to fulfil its promise of revamping the educational system, insisting that the government must meet the demands of ASUU and call off the strike with immediate effect.

“There is no point arguing about who is at fault or what is to be done, it is very clear that the rulers underfund education and the Buhari government is failing in its promises to revamp education. As it is today, no higher institution in Nigeria is world-class! Yet, our so-called public servants travel all over the world spending billions to send their kids abroad for studies.’’

NANS

NANS also noted that they are the “major stakeholders in the educational sector, we are the ones who can save ourselves. We have monitored the yearnings of students from campus to campus through their social media platforms and also in their public writings. Students all over Nigeria stand with ASUU. Our lecturers suffer the same hardships and mal-developments we suffer. The staff houses are as bad as the students’ hostels. In South Africa, a professor’s laboratory is far more equipped than that of any university in Nigeria.’’

The students’ body also vowed that its new administration is out to regain its rightful place in the Nigerian society, vowing not to let Nigerian students down.

“History has been killed and undermined, so we the youths, do not know where we are coming from not to talk of knowing where we are headed. But we will not lament anymore. The new leadership of NANS is here to work with students to achieve our set aims and objectives. We believe that the student movement has its place in history. It is a task that we vow to fulfill. We will never let Nigerian students down.’’

NANS

Further, NANS expressed solidarity with Nigerian lecturers and asked the leadership of ASUU “for a meeting as soon as possible to discuss solidarity actions and plan for the next phase of the struggles. We pass a vote of no confidence on both Ministers of Labour and Education; We call for the proper funding of the educational sector as against what has been attainable in the past seven years; We Call on the Buhari government to pay all outstanding arrears and salaries of the lecturers. The policy of “No Work No Pay” is a fascist one, it’s therefore, condemnable and nonacceptable to all the millions of students in Nigeria.”

In the past, NANS were considered a strong force in the Nigerian society but have failed in recent times to live up to its billing. It is left to be seen if its new leadership is determined to call out bad leadership in Nigeria and make moves towards ensuring the government addresses the numerous challenges confronting the educational sector.

Source

Pulse NG

Featured Image Credit: Punch NG