By Olusegun Olanrewaju (Lagos), Cross Udo (Abuja), Israel Joel (Jos), and Felix Ndiomu (Yenagoa)

Organised labour went to a street war yesterday over the lingering strike in the nation’s universities which began on February 14.

Labour showed its militant commitment to the protest with activities in the 36 states of the federation.
In Lagos, where the protest was relatively peaceful, the state government urged motorists to remain calm, even as he received a letter from the protesters

At the rally held by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Ikeja and its environs, the Commissioner for Transportation, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, urged the workers to remain peaceful, in a statement he issued yesterday.

From the early hours, protesting unionists converged on the Ikeja roundabout and marched down to the state secretariat in Alausa, carrying placards and chanting songs.
Policemen were on hand to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

Members of the NLC protested in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, in solidarity with the ASUU strike.

Scores of protesters who stormed the street carried placards with several inscriptions that called on the relevant agencies to attend to their demands.

Another round of the protest will be held today in the Oyo State capital.

In Benin City, the capital of Edo State, there was gridlock in various parts of the state capital, as well as heavy security in presence in various parts of the city, especially the main campus of the University of Benin (UNIBEN) and its Ekheuan campus.

In those places, organised labour led by the NLC and civil society organisations (CSOs) staged a peaceful protest in solidarity with the five-month-old strike by the academic union and others.

As early as 7am, armed and unarmed police personnel took over the gates of the two campuses of UNIBEN as the labour union, civil society leaders, and members gathered at the museum ground at Oba Ovonranmwen Square, popularly called Ring Road.
The group then proceeded to the Government House at Osadebey Avenue, which resulted in gridlock along adjoining streets across the city.

At the government house, the Acting State Chairman of NLC, Odion Olaye, said “We are here in solidarity with our affiliate unions in our universities as directed by the national leadership of NLC through the emergency NEC (National Executive Committee) meeting we held on June 30th.”
Meanwhile, the Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, called on the Federal Government to, in the interest of Nigerian students, expedite actions to immediately end the five-month-old strike embarked upon by ASUU.

The governor gave the charge when he received members of the Edo State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), who were on a peaceful protest at the Government House, Benin City.

Obaseki, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Hon. Osaigbovo Iyoha, said the five-month deadlock portends danger for the future of students and the university education system in the country.
The governor said, “Our universities are on strike to demand quality education for our children. The lecturers did not go on strike because of their interests alone; they are also demanding a better environment for learning.

“It’s quite a shame that our children, brothers, and sisters have been at home for about five months since this strike action by the university lecturers commenced.

“Some of these demands today are those that were not met as far back as the 1990s and they are still on the table; it is quite shameful. I want to commend you for this move you made today. The letter has gone round the 36 states’ governors and something will be done urgently,” Obaseki added.

Also, hundreds of lecturers and students from various tertiary institutions in Rivers State yesterday joined workers in the state on a protest march to the Government House, Port Harcourt, in solidarity with the striking members of ASUU.
The protest match, which was organised by the Rivers State chapter of NLC, went on as planned in the state, despite the continued sealing off of the NLC secretariat, as well as the threat by the state government to deal with any civil servant that participated in the nationwide protest.

The protesters, who started gathering along Igboukwu Street in D/Line area of Port Harcourt, close to the sealed NLC secretariat as early as 7:15 am, were also not frightened by the presence of over 100 armed policemen stationed in front of the secretariat.

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Carrying large banners and several placards with different write-ups, the protesters marched through some major roads in the state capital, including Ikwerre Road and Azikiwe Road before arriving at Government House, where they delivered a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, through Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike.
Addressing the protesters, NLC chairman in the state, Beatrice Itubo, said Nigerian workers were concerned over the condition of ASUU members and university students in the country.

In Bayelsa State, the state chapter of NLC joined the nationwide protest in Yenagoa, the state capital, calling on the Federal Government to end the five-month strike embarked upon by ASUU.

State NLC chair, John Ndiomu, had mobilised its affiliate unions, including members of ASUU, the Non-Academic Union of Allied and Education Institutions (NASU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), to stage a peaceful protest against the OMPADEC junction to the Bayelsa State Government House.

In his address, Ndiomu accused the Federal Government of paying lip service to education in the country “because most of the children of the ruling class are schooling abroad”.

According to him, it is only the children of the working class that are attending public universities.
The protest also reverberated in Jos, the Plateau State capital, where workers and other citizens yesterday protested the ongoing ASUU strike, in compliance with the directive of the NLC national secretariat.

Our correspondent reports that labour members, other unions, and civil society groups gathered under the secretariat bridge axis in Jos as early as 8am.
Amid the heavy presence of security operatives in the city over the protest, security operatives, including police and others, were at the venue to prevent breaches or attacks on the protesters by thugs.
ASUU chair, University of Jos, Dr Lazarus Maigoro, accused the government of insincerity for claiming that it had no money to meet its demand to revamp the country’s education sector.

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As the protests were going on radical Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana, rights activist, Deji Adeyanju, as well as other members of the civil society, including the CLO, actively participated.

Falana was spotted carrying placards along with other protesters in Lagos.

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The outspoken lawyer has joined many protests in the country, saying they were on the streets to defend the interests of Nigerians.

The activists warned the Federal Government about what they considered ‘imminent collapse in the economy, should the strike continue.

The Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Steve Aluko, who spoke on behalf of other CSOs, described education as a right of the people, saying that any government that fails to respect the rights of its people is a failure.

Earlier, the NLC had promised to embark on a two-day nationwide protest in solidarity with ASUU and other affiliate unions over the lingering industrial action in public universities in Nigeria.

NLC national president, Ayuba Wabba, in a statement told fellow workers that the national days of protest were in support of unions in Nigeria’s public universities who are fighting for quality education.

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*Organised Labour mobilises for mega demonstration in FCT today.

Following the relatively successful and peaceful nationwide protests yesterday, the Labour movement has disclosed that it would be proceeding with another round of mega protests today to drum home its point.

To ensure full compliance with the proposed solidarity protest on Wednesday, NLC in a letter to all its affiliate unions, urged them to mobilise in large numbers and assembly at Unity Fountain in Abuja by 7:30 am.

The letter signed by Comrade Bello Ismail for the General Secretary, Comrade Emma Ugbaja with the title, “Notice of Abuja Mega Rally,” was dated July 26, 2022.

It read: “In furtherance of the decision of the National Executive Council of the Congress that a mega rally holds in Abuja on Wednesday, July 27, 2022, I am directed to inform you that workers are directed to converge at Unity Fountain at 7:30 am.

“Given the significance of the rally, affiliates are directed to mobilize in large numbers.”

Meanwhile, the NLC has also hinted that if the Federal Government refuses to meet its demand by aborting the strike, its members would be ready for a full-blown strike which could paralyse the economy.