ASUU strike: Unilorin students protest, express frustration, disappointment

By Mosunmola Ayobami, Kwara

Students of the University of Ilorin (Unilorin) on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest to express their sadness and disappointment over the extension of the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by another 12 weeks.

The students, in their large number during the protest, said that they planned to take the protest to major places like the Government House, roads linking Ilorin Airport, State House of Assembly, federal secretariat, Police headquarters, Department of State Service (DSS), among others, if the meeting between the lecturers’ union and the Federal Government did not resolve the lingering crisis this week.

The protesting students lamented their continued stay at home, calling on the Federal Government to meet ASUU’s demands to enable them complete their academic activities.

The protesters recited the national anthem in different sad postures to depict their dissatisfaction by sitting on the ground, squatting and lying down, saying they would not have anything to do with the 2023 general elections if the strike was not called off.

Men of the DSS, the Police and Man ‘O War manned strategic locations around the institution during the protest to ensure that it was not hijacked by hoodlums.

Speaking with journalists, President of the Unilorin Students Union Government (SUG), Taofik Waliu, said the protest was aimed at creating awareness among stakeholders and members of the public on their position over the lingering strike.

“We want to graduate. The Federal Government should listen to ASUU demands. We don’t plan to move around town today. We hope that soon the strike will be a thing of the past whereby hanging graduate can graduate and hanging 300 Level students can move up and so on.

“However, if nothing fruitful comes out after the meeting of the Federal Government and ASUU this week, we will move enmasse continuously with other students of 10 educational institutions in the state to block roads to various places in the state capital to register our displeasure over the lingering ASUU strike.

“This is just to send message to government that we are tired and they should listen to ASUU’s demands,” he said.

Also speaking, the state chairman of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Salman Yusuf Yisa, called on state governors to intervene, adding that the issue is beyond the Federal Government.