Students reveal: ‘What we’ve been up to during ASUU strike’
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike has been ongoing for months now. Daily Trust spoke to some students on what they have been doing in the interim. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Sunday 4th November 2018 commenced another round of indefinite strike over the failure of the federal government to […]
Students reveal: ‘What we’ve been up to during ASUU strike’
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike has been ongoing for months now. Daily Trust spoke to some students on what they have been doing in the interim.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Sunday 4th November 2018 commenced another round of indefinite strike over the failure of the federal government to implement the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and other demands.
The strike action as usual has resulted in the disruption of academic activities. The old saying that ‘When two elephants fight, the grass suffers’ is always applicable in the faceoff between ASUU and government as today the students are at the receiving end, having been idle at home for three months.
When learning is suspended for a period of time, there’s the tendency of losing interest. It has been proven that students perform badly in examinations after returning from a strike period because they are led through crash programmes in order to meet up with lost time. Most of them do not read during strike periods, while others forget key points from lectures as a result of the long wait.
Also, the adage that ‘an idle mind is the devil’s workshop’ tends to play out during strike periods. There is the tendency of students going into social vices like robbery, kidnapping, prostitution, oil bunkering, thuggery, election violence, and so on. Some students spoke to Daily Trust Saturday on how the strike is affecting them.
Rabiatu Umar, 20, who schools in Kaduna said because she knows what to do with her time, she is enjoying the strike period. “baking was a hobby, but during this strike, I realised that I can turn it into something more. I earn money on weekly basis when I get orders, unlike before now when I had to wait for pocket money from my mother. l must say, this strike made me rich and I learned the importance of time,” she said, adding that, aside improving her baking skills, she watching enjoys movies and her time with family and friends. She advised that students should make good use of their time.
It is a different experience for Sani Ibrahim Dalhatu, 21, in Zaria, Kaduna State, who uses his time to help his parents and siblings, as well as improve his website development and data analysis skills. He is also working on the Hult Prize 2019 challenge which aims at solving youth unemployment. “It is a life changing experience,” he said. “I am also improving my soul as a Muslim by going for tafseer (understanding of the Holy Qur’an) and Hadith khutbah (sermons) after maghrib, and lastly playing basketball to improve my health.”
But Jibril Amir Salihu, 21, who lives in Wuse, Abuja said everything has been slow since the strike. However, due to the boredom, he has found things to do, such as reading novels, mostly political thrillers, writing short stories, and watching films.
“Another activity I have used so far to keep myself occupied is the part-time teaching I do at a local islamiyya. In this way, I keep myself occupied and get some spiritual benefits.
Back in Kaduna, Abdulkadir Shehu, 23, said idleness drove him to search for materials for his final year project which he hopes to submit when the strike is called off. In between he learns tailoring and interns. “I don’t want to sit idle and doing nothing,” he said.
However, Mercy Fred, a 500 level Petroleum Engineering student of Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa lamented that she was supposed to finish her programme last year, but was unable to due to the ASUU strike. “We are now spending an extra year in school, so the strike has affected our curriculum seriously. That is why we are praying that the ongoing negotiations between ASUU and Federal Government be successful, so that we can return back to school and complete our programmes. So, whatever they need to settle, it should be done now without delay in order to guard against another strike in the nearest future,” she said.
“Although we used the strike for profitable activities, in one way or the other, it’s still painful because it has elongated our stay in school,” Batombari Richard Gaawa, a 500 level Petroleum Engineering student of Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Bayelsa State said.
A 400 level Economics student, Matthew Offong, from University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State pointed out that “before the strike, me and my colleagues were working on our final year project, but we couldn’t defend it because of the strike action. So, students suffer most in this industrial action. Those who were due for NYSC could not be mobilized and even the fresh students could not commence their programme. If things continue like this, how can Nigerian students compete with their counterparts in other countries who have a functional educational system.”
However, the Federal Government has talked about the possibility of striking lecturers under ASUU returning to the classrooms this week.