Rahma Ahmed
By Ahmed Rahma
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) seems not to be happy with the suspension of the nine-month-old strike called off by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Wednesday.
This is because the students said the conditional suspension of the industrial action looks like a slap and insult on them and they have threatened to embark on a mass protest if their lecturers ever try to down tool again.
While briefing the media, the president of NANS, Mr Sunday Asefon, said his members are furious that their lecturers wasted their (students) precious time for nine months all because of their (ASUU) demands.
He described this as not only embarrassing but ridiculous, noting that, “It is a slap on us for ASUU to say they are calling off the strike conditionally.”
“If they call it off conditionally, we will also put on hold our plan to engage the federal government and ASUU on mass action.
“But if they also resume their strike, we will also go to the streets, if that is the only language they understand, we will speak it to them,” he threatened.
On Wednesday, the national president of ASUU, Mr Biodun Ogunyemi, had said the union would resume the industrial action if the government fails to meet their demands after the strike was called off “conditionally” effective Thursday, December 24, 2020.
“Never again should we have a repeat of this strike and stakeholders must make commitments to ensure that this ugly scenario does not repeat itself,” the NANS president said.
He urged the federal government to be “committed to fulfilling its agreement with ASUU while ASUU must be wary to go on strike. ASUU must seek to exhaust every window of alternative resolution before deciding on industrial actions.”
“Future negotiations must involve students representative as we believe this will bring a sense of urgency to the table as the parties will be compelled to understand that students across the country are the grass when the elephants of ASUU and FG fight,” Mr Asefon advised.
