Protesting students block Sagamu-Benin Expressway over prolonged ASUU strike
Protesting students on Monday blocked the Sagamu-Benin Expressway over the prolonged strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
The joint protest had in attendance students from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Tai Solarin University of Education, Science and Technology (TASUED), Ijagun, and the Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta.
Travellers were left stranded as the students blocked the TASUED axis as well as the expressway.
The students held placards with inscriptions such as “End ASUU strike now”, “ We say no to educational stagnancy”, “ We’re tired of deadlock meetings” and “Education should not be this difficult” among others.
The NANS Chairman in the state, Damilola Simeon, who spoke on protest ground, pleaded with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration to resolve the issues with ASUU.
Simeon noted that it was high time the Federal Government and members of ASUU reached a compromise to end the strike.
“We don’t pray that our students end up engaging themselves in criminal activities as we all know that an idle hand is the devil’s workshop,” he said.
The NANS chairman admonished the government and ASUU to do the needful and call off the strike.
Don Ayomide, President, Student Union Government of TASUED, also at the protest said the action became necessary to inform the government and ASUU of the plight of Nigerian students.
He added that the Federal Government should endeavour to respect the agreements reached between the two parties, stressing that the students were most hit by the current strike.
ASUU announced a three-month extension of its ongoing strike, which began on February 14 to give the government more time to satisfactorily resolve all the outstanding issues.