Students across various Nigerian universities have condemned the ongoing strike embarked upon by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Speaking to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, some students of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, said the strike action would negatively affect studies, particularly at the peak of the examination period.
Abubakar Imam, a 300-level student in the department of Political Science said that the semester ought to have been rounded-off, but the commencement of the strike has affected the examination time-table in the institution.
Chairman of ASUU in the institution, Dr. Lawal Abubakar, confirmed that the entire academic staff of the institution have joined the ongoing strike in compliance with ASUU directive.
“We have put down our teaching tools in compliance with ASUU directive and we will not resume work until we hear from the national body of the union,” Lawal stated.
In Calabar, Coss River State, academic activities have been crippled in the state-owned institution as lecturers have joined their counterparts in other universities across the nation in the ongoing strike.
Narrating his frustration to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND, a student of the Faculty of Engineering, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH), Ofem Anthony, said that the strike action has crippled academic activities in the institution. “Our examination would have started on Monday, but after the announcement of the strike action, we have been forced to take four or five subjects in a day, thereby compounding issues for us,” Ofem said.
A cross section of students who spoke to LEADERSHIP WEEKEND in Kano expressed mixed reactions over the ongoing strike action by ASUU. While some of the students flayed the federal government for not standing by its promise, others castigated the lecturers for always resorting to strike action whenever they had issues with the government.
Binta Rabiu Sipikin, a 400 level student in the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano, said:
“The ASUU strike is multifaceted. It is just unfortunate that something like this could happen in Nigeria in the 21st century. ASUU is a body of sound intellectuals and I expect them to do things in a civilized manner. They have over-flogged the strike action weapon. Soon, it will lose its impact. They should pursue other avenues through which they can drive home their agenda and make their grievances heard.”?
In Lagos State, the frustrations are the same. Adetunwase Christiana, a student in the department of Psychology, University of Lagos, expressed her view about the strike.
“The strike is actually killing the students and also slowing down the academic calendar. The students bear the brunt and not the lecturers or government and the future of Nigeria is at stake here. I am not enjoying it but other may like it, probably because they are working class.”
In other universities visited by LEADERSHIP WEEKEND across the country, reactions from students are the same. They are calling on the government to speed up action and keep their own side of the agreement reached in 2009 between ASUU and the government.