The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to shut down all international airports starting from September 19, over the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
NANS expressed its displeasure over the federal government’s failure to meet the demand of ASUU and the students association, claiming that its four-day protest on highways and expressways was a success.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the chairman NANS national task force on “End ASUU Strike Now”, Ojo Raymond Olumide, said members of the association will disrupt international travels starting from September 19, until the government experience the suffering that students had gone through over the last seven months.
“The four-day shutdown of busy highways and expressways had been a success, hence the move to disrupt international travels in order for the bourgeois and the government to feel the pains that had subjected students to in the past seven months,” Mr Olumide said.
He said that students are tired of pleading with both parties about the necessity of ending the strike, adding that the Muhammadu Buhari-led regime must “settle all outstanding arrears and the lecturers’ salaries.”
The NANS task force Chairman added: “We shall begin another round of protest next week by storming the airspaces 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 call on students to rise and join us as we take our destinies into our hands. Our demands remain consistently clear and simple. We call on ASUU leadership for a meeting as soon as possible to discuss solidarity actions and plan for the next phase of the struggles.”
The association passed a vote of no confidence on the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige and the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu.
The student association said that the description of their protests by the minister for works, Babatunde Fashola’s, as “illegal” proved that the government was “hell-bent on destroying every remnant of state welfare left” than to revamp public education.
“Instead of them (federal and state governments) responding to us responsibly; we were shocked that the Minister of Works Babatunde Fashola came up with an illegal utterance befitting of only rabble-rousers and political irritants by calling out fundamental human rights ‘illegal’,” he said.
“They are never apologetic and are hell-bent on destroying every remnant of State welfare left. They prefer to kill the public schools instead of revamping them.
“We will, by this statement, not beg again. We shall be mobilizing all students to shut down the country. No Education! No Movement,” the statement added.
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