The Coalition of Students’ Activists (COSA) has given the Federal Government a month’s ultimatum to meet the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) as laid out in its 2009 agreement with the union.
The students urged labour unions and civil society groups to join the university teachers’ strike to ensure proper funding of the Education sector. Addressing reporters at the Obafemi Awolowo University
(OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, the students said they would call out their colleagues for a massive protest over the protracted strike.
Their spokesperson, Juwon Sanyaolu, warned that if the Federal Government failed to meet ASUU’s demands before the ultimatum expired, the nation would witness serious students’ street protest. Sanyaolu said: “We are unequivocally giving the Federal Government a month to meet all the demands it signed with the union, or to witness unforgettable massive street protest across the states,” he said.
He said it was worrisome that five other academic unions, including College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU); Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP); Non Academic Staff Union (NASU); Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU); National Association of Academic Technicians (NAAT) and Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) besides ASUU have threatened to go on strike over one demand or the other. He said the development is an indication that the education sector is on the verge of collapsing. He said: “Calling on the ASUU to suspend the current action without its demands being met could be disastrous.
And as far as the early 90’s, government sponsored free education with money generated from cocoa and oil palm but still, there were demands for more and adequate funding. Nevertheless, things were more bearable then but have been growing worse even though the government seem to generate more revenue from oil.”
