The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has vowed to shut down critical infrastructure across the country if the Federal Government fails to resolve the lingering demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has again threatened a nationwide strike.
NANS Assistant General Secretary, Emmanuel Adejuwon, in a statement on Monday noted that the association would “mobilise Nigerian students for massive nationwide protests that will shut down roads, airports, government offices, and critical infrastructure.”
“Let it be on record: if this strike is not averted, we will bring the country to a standstill until the future of Nigerian students is secured. The time for games is over. The Federal Government must act now. ASUU must act responsibly. And Nigerian students will not sit idle while our future is wasted,” he warned.
Adejuwon stressed that only children of the poor suffer during prolonged strikes, adding: “This strike must not be allowed to happen.”
He further argued that strikes punish ordinary Nigerians while political elites remain unaffected:
“It is obvious that strike actions only inflict pain and suffering on the children of ordinary Nigerians, the masses who struggle day and night to keep their children in school. The politicians and government officials whose failures created this crisis are not affected; their children are comfortably schooling abroad or in expensive private universities. If the children of these politicians were in our public institutions, this issue would have been resolved immediately.”
Blaming the government for “endless promises and insincerity,” he declared: “We demand that the Federal Government, without delay, meet its obligations to ASUU and resolve all outstanding issues. Enough of the endless promises, excuses, and insincerity. Nigerian students are tired of being victims of leadership irresponsibility.”
At the same time, Adejuwon urged ASUU to rethink its strategy, saying: “At the same time, we call on ASUU leadership to reconsider the weaponisation of strike as the only tool of engagement.
“Every strike action destroys our academic calendar, elongates our years in school, and diminishes the quality of our education. The lecturers must understand that their struggle, no matter how just, should not become a weapon against the same students they claim to fight for.”
ASUU insists on demands
Meanwhile, ASUU branches across the country restated their conditions on Monday, warning that another strike was imminent if the Federal Government failed to act.
In Ibadan, Zonal Coordinator Prof. Biodun Olaniran urged the government to implement the Yayale Ahmed report submitted in February, describing it as the key to averting another shutdown.
“The true test of government’s sincerity lies in how it handles the Yayale Ahmed report,” he said. “Our members are frustrated with delay tactics and are no longer willing to be dragged along endlessly. Implementing this report is the surest way to restore confidence and industrial peace.”
He highlighted unresolved issues such as the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, outstanding salary awards, unpaid third-party deductions, promotion arrears, and the union’s rejection of the IPPIS payment platform.
“Many of our members cannot provide education for their wards and have turned to borrowing to meet obligations,” Olaniran lamented.
In Abuja, Zonal Coordinator Prof. Al-Amin Abdullahi said the government’s neglect of universities was a national crisis:
“There is a crisis affecting universities in Nigeria, and it is not just a problem for ASUU; it is a problem for the entire country. The purposeful mortgage of a nation’s future and the endangerment of generations yet to be born is the result of a nation’s disregard of education.”
He listed demands including payment of arrears, release of deductions, adoption of UTAS, and increased education funding in line with UNESCO standards.