Nigerian students under the aegis of the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), yesterday, threatened to take their protest over the protracted closure of universities to the airports, where they vow to shut down the country’s air space.
The students have already embarked on four massive protests on major highways across the country to register their grievances over the lingering face-off between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government, which has led to the closure of universities for over six months.
Addressing a world press conference in Akure, Saturday, the Chairman, NANS National Task Force on #EndAsuuStrikeNow, Raymond Ojo, who led other student leaders to speak with the press, stressed the need for adequate funding for education.
The students flayed the federal and state governments for being insensitive to the plights of Nigerians due to the ASUU strike and attendant protests by the students, condemning their apathy to their predicaments.
The students also condemned the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola, for describing their protests as illegal, saying Fashola’s views represent “an illegal utterance befitting of only rabble-rousers and political irritants…”
“We are here to inform all Nigerian students and the general public that we shall begin another round of protest next week by storming the airspace on Monday, 19th September 2022 to #OccupyTheAirports.
“We want to let the world know about the pains and anguish students are going through. Nigerian students whose parents create the commonwealth cannot continue to be suffering at home alongside our lecturers, while the few who gain from our sweats and blood have their kids abroad jollying and flexing.
“We will, by this statement, not beg again. We shall be mobilising all students to shut down the country. No Education! No Movement! Fund education now.”
According to them: “The minister’s outburst is also another evidence that the Buhari government hates real educational development. They are never apologetic and are hell-bent on destroying every remnant of state welfare that is left.
“They prefer to kill the public schools instead of revamping them. Nigerian students are not surprised that the Buhari-led government does not care about public education. After all, all the politicians have their kids schooling abroad, while children of the masses that constitute 99 per cent of the population are only fit to be thugs, hard workers, and sex slaves. We dare say that this cruelty will not continue anymore.”
The student body appealed to the national leadership of ASUU to synergise with them to achieve their objective of ensuring that a state of emergency is declared in the educational sector.
“We pass a vote of no confidence on both ministers of labour, education, and works. We call on the Buhari government to pay all outstanding arrears and salaries of the lecturers. The policy of “no work no pay” is a fascist one. It is, therefore, condemnable and non-acceptable to all the millions of students in Nigeria,” the student leaders said.
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