Vehicular activities were, yesterday, disrupted on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, by Ogun students protesting the three months extension of the strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
The students, under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Ogun State Joint Campus Committee, stormed the Obada axis of the highway with placards, chanting anti-government songs.
The protest left many motorists stranded with travellers trapped in the ensuing traffic.
Some of the inscriptions on their placards read: “End ASUU Strike now”, “Enough is Enough”, “Nigerian Students are suffering” and “FG listen to ASUU.”
Speaking on behalf of the students, the NANS Chairman in Ogun State, Kehinde Simeon, said the extension of the strike would worsen the insecurity in the country.
Kehinde said the Federal Government and members of ASUU must agree and reach a comprise to end the strike before students take to anarchy.
He said: “It is so unfortunate that the Federal Government is playing politics with the lives of Nigerian students. We have been clamouring ever since the commencement of this ASUU strike that something should be done with immediate effect, but it is obvious that both the Federal Government and ASUU have decided to turn deaf ears to our agitations.
It is so evident that none of the children of these politicians, government officials and by extension, ASUU is here in Nigeria schooling because if they have children here they would have resolved this issue a long time ago when it started.
“And it is obvious that ASUU, on the other hand, is not genuine with its struggle because they have to know that Nigerian students will always be at the receiving end at the end of the day. We have come out to solidarise with ASUU on many occasions since the commencement of this strike and we expect them to be considerate.
Our students are suffering and fed up. This whole issue is getting out of hand and before it gets to a point of students and youths taking to anarchy they should find a lasting solution to this issue. Enough is enough.
“Our students are going to end up engaging themselves in criminal activities as we all know that an idle hand is the devil’s workshop.
“Since our students are not in school, a lot of them will have no choice but to start engaging in criminal activities, ranging from prostitution to internet fraud and others.
“We want the Federal Government to know that they are about to unleash the beast in us as they had failed to do the needful.
“They should remember the cases of Somalia, Rwanda and Liberia before it gets to a point where we will start hunting these politicians and ASUU.
“They should please do the needful and call off the strike. The Federal Government should listen and ASUU on the other hand should try to be reasonable so that our students can return to classrooms.”
Source: Vanguard