By Tomiwa Okunade, Mohammed Alkali, and Joy Moses, Abuja
Following the continued impasse on negotiations between public university teachers under their union, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), students nationwide are bemoaning their plight, calling on the Federal Government to do the needful to prevent further hardship to students, parents, and other stakeholders.
The students are lamenting that since the strike between ASUU and the government erupted on February 14 to press home their demand for implementation of the previous agreement, amongst other issues, the fate of university students in Nigeria has continued to hang in the balance, as most of them are idling away in their parent’s homes.
According to some students who spoke with our correspondents in the nation’s capital, Abuja, “It is said that when two elephants fight, the grass suffers. In this instance, the university students in Nigeria are the grass suffering the protracted impasse between ASUU and the Federal Government.”
Generally, they are unhappy with the four-week extension of the strike by their weary lecturers.
They also expressed the view that, with no immediate end in sight to the ongoing six-month strike by university teachers, following the latest four-week extension by the academic staff union, the future of the students is being toyed with.
Some of the students expressed mixed feelings as they downloaded aspects of our grief or otherwise in interviews with our reporters. They also spoke about how they have been coping with the logjam.
A final year student of the department of health education, Bayero University, Kano, Zubaida Ibrahim, said she is currently into baking, as she is also a creative chef.
According to her, “The current strike has caused lots of problems for me. I have missed job opportunities because I do not have my certificate yet. I had bigger plans for my business after completing my degree, and that will require more commitment.
“The plan is still pending because the strike might be called off unexpectedly, and I would not be fully committed to the business anymore. But for now, I still do my business at home, until the strike comes to an end. Honestly, I feel so discouraged.
“I had planned to do my masters, but this strike is still keeping me. This incessant strike has kept me in school longer than necessary. I am already spending six years on a four-year course. It is derailing my plan to do my master’s.
“My mates that started school in private schools have all gotten their certificates, and some are even doing their compulsory one-year service to the fatherland. We’re at the final stage. My biggest issue is my siblings that just started. It feels like the education in Nigeria is moving from bad to worse”.
On her part, a 100-level student of the department of education biology at the Federal University, Kebbi, Fidausi Abdullahi, said that after her first semester exams, ASUU began the two-week warning strike in February.
“We thought it was just going to end soon, and here we are six months and counting. I am disturbed by the strike, to be honest with you. I started in 2020, and up till now, I am still at 100-level. I am already in my twenties, and age is not on my side anymore, especially, for those of us that are females.
“Some of us are married already, and I think that I have lost hope of pursuing my dream of being educated. However, I recently got a job, so I won’t be idle throughout this period. The government should do the needful and end this strike. They should give ASUU their demands for this strike to end.”
To Samuel Okonkwo, it is a mixed feeling. He said that, at first, he wanted the strike because school work was getting ‘hectic’.
He, nonetheless, noted that three months into the strike, it became tiring, and he got to pick up a skill that he loved.
“When there was the possibility of the strike coming to an end, I was filled with mixed feelings because I know resuming school right now would stop me from perfecting the skill I’m learning.
“However, hearing that the strike has been extended by four weeks made me happy, and I know I’m not the only student who feels that way; not just because I have something that’s keeping me busy, but the thought of resuming can be scary, despite how important going back to school is.
“Another factor why I’m relieved that the strike was extended is because of the present security situation in the country. Travelling is no longer safe,” he posited.
Expressing her misgivings about the ongoing strike by ASUU, a student of one of Nigeria’s premier universities, the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Favour Ene, said, “Honestly, I am not happy about the prolonged strike, because I ought to graduate this year. But with the way it is, I will be having an extra year.
“I am a student of UNN, I stay off campus, and I paid a one-year rent. But right now, it’s wasting away, because school is not in session. It’s affecting my general state of mind, because I’m not working at the moment, nor am I learning a skill. I can do make-up, but it’s not something I do every day. I just want to go back to school and finish up,” she lamented.
A student of the University of Abuja, Justin James, wished that his parents could afford the exorbitant fees charged by private universities.
He said, “Sometimes, I wish my parents had enough money to further my education in a private university. It’s so discouraging having a break from time to time while studying. Staying at home became tiring and depressing.
“I had to look for something I could do, and I started learning tailoring. It wasn’t in my interest at the beginning, but the thought of staying idle gave me the courage to continue, and I’ve been able to get some money sewing clothes for people.”
Another student, Grace Okunade, said: “I am a 200-level student of Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Ekiti State, in the department of English and Literary Studies. As regards the extension of the strike by ASUU, I feel so disappointed and bitter about it because I had hoped all would be over after the end of July. But unfortunately, my hopes were cut short.
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“To be frank, I feel cheated and I know there are also more students who would feel the same way because it is getting so intolerable for me. But what can I do? Nothing, to be precise, just to exercise patience, make proper use of my time, and hope for the best”.
A Medical Laboratory Science student at the University of Ibadan, Okunade Seun, told a correspondent, “The extension of the ASUU has little does not affect my general state of mind and psyche, because I only see it as an opportunity to improve on the skill I have acquired since the beginning of the strike.”
On his part, other students, Oluwaseyi Prince and Ayeni Jonathan said, “Since we are now in the sixth month of the strike, I have gotten used to it. With the current educational situation in the country, the best thing for us to do to maintain good mental health is to adapt and just move along and not expect too much, otherwise, we will keep getting disappointed and sad.
I told one of my friends yesterday that it is just a time to build ourselves, learn new skills, and enjoy our family. I am not hoping for too much anymore, because I have gotten used to the strike, and I do not see any hope of resuming any time from now. So, I have moved on with my life.
“Personally, it’s been somewhat positive. The extension of the strike has given me a new mind-set of independence. The strike has shown that the government and ASUU have shown that they are unreliable, and this has improved my mind-set on my independence and personal development”.
