Lagosians have experienced another Lagos state protest after the EndSars Saga, but this is coming from students who have been at home due to the ASUU strike since February 2022.
The students were seen dancing and singing a solidarity song. Many travelers and commuters passing through the Murtala Muhammad airport have been stranded due to students blocking the Ikeja and Apapa Oshodi areas of the city on Monday morning.
At least 5 kilometers (3 miles) of rainy walking with bags were required of passengers to get to and from the airport. The security officers were on the scene with their batons but maintained a distance because they didn’t want to clash with the students.
The protesters, under the umbrella of NANS, have vowed that they will remain on that road until the federal government and the ASUU find a solution to the strike which has kept them at home for a long time.
Hopefully the protest will be done by nightfall when a large number of international planes land at the airport and hundreds of people are expected to come to board flights for distant locations.
The court has ordered ASUU to return to the class room, but they intend not to obey the order because they feel they have been intimidated by the court.
The academic staff of the Nigeria Federal University are insisting on a “no pay no work” policy which the Nigerian government is still negotiating on.
The University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), which was created by ASUU’s members, is to be used in place of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) as the platform for salary payments.
According to ASUU, IPPIS failed to take into consideration the quirks of the university system and has instead encouraged fraud rather than enforcing responsibility.
It has been rumored that ASUU will meet with the President of Nigeria, Muhammad Buhari, as they hope to provide an everlasting solution to the strike that made Nigeria’s undergraduates sit at home for a long time.