Mololuwa Olabode
Strike actions have always been an issue in the academic system of Nigeria, especially in schools under the government.
From time immemorial, students have had to spend more than the expected years in school; an issue which has never ceased to portray the country’s academic system as below standard to the world.
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The question therefore of who to be blamed for this educational malady still remain unanswered.
Strike actions has always been pioneered by: Students who are against the tramplement of their rights by school leaders and Aaademics and non academics staff who see it as the only measure of drawing the government’s attention to their grievances. What a nation!
The current strike action, which began on Wednesday, November 29, 2017, by the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) in the University of Ibadan came all of a sudden to many students. Many thought the strike was a rumour until they got to school and realise that it was real.
Being one of the students, I inquired from members of the union the reason for the strike, and I got to know that truly the government disbursed funds to universities, but the amount of money given NASU was small compared to what was given ASUU.
According to them, the number of people under NASU are more than those under ASUU, and if they are to share the amount received among members of the Union, what would be allocated to everyone would be really meager, a far cry from what would be enough to run their individual homes.
The strike was therefore embarked on because the members of the Union could not tolerate being cheated by the government.
The reasons behind the strike is however understandable, for it is unfathomable why a man who works should not be allowed to eat.
ASUU has however also resumed its suspended strike in a bid to join NASU in their bid, much to the peril of the students.
On the issue of who to blame, I was still pondering over that in the early hours of today, when I heard in the news that the Federal Government has got vehicles worth millions of naira for ministers! O ga o, and there is no money o.
I was really shocked and angry after listening to the news. Is that the next thing to be done? What is the government thinking? Cars for ministers! People whose take home can feed a community for a month.
The government has really shown the highest level of irresponsibility as buying cars for people whose needs are already met at the expense of the plight of the public especially those working under the government.
Asides education, there are other sectors like medical amongst others who have had to embark on strike actions in order to have their needs met, whereas without any struggle or agitation, the beautiful are being made more beautiful, and things are getting uglier.
Nonetheless, things can still be done, amendments can still be made. The plights of these unions can be addressed if the government embarked
on setting their priorities right because the ministers, senators and the likes are all there to serve and not to be served.
We run a democracy in this country, and with that, the electorates’-public- needs should always be paramount.
The strike actions being embarked on have done more harm than good as students who are tomorrow’s leaders are at the receiving end.
The foundation of the nation’s envisioned scale- through should be properly laid, for the land on which two elephants fight, the grasses suffer most.
The government should hearken unto the plights of the progenitors of the envisioned success, and see how the proposed change begins with us.
God bless Nigeria!
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