The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has expressed a willingness to ground the Nigerian Port Authority, the NPA and the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.
In a statement signed Monday by its chairman, the NANS National Taskforce on #EndASUUStrikeNow, Ojo Raymond, the student body said it was ready to hold a week-long protest until the federal government accepts its demands on the strike resolution. Union of Academic Staff of Universities, ASUU.
The statement reads: “For several days we have been protesting at the same time in the states of the country to protest against the continuation of the ASUU strike that has lasted for more than seven months due to the ‘gross irresponsibility’ of the federal government Government to respect the terms of the agreement that have voluntarily entered into with the ASUU.
“As an association, we are saddened by this development which has led to the closure of universities. And, we believe this act is approved by the federal government to deny ordinary Nigerian children access to quality education, which violates the provisions of Chapter Two of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“We are using this means to reiterate that this protest continues and that we will under no circumstances back down until the federal government takes the education sector as a priority. It is quite pathetic that the federal government is using the military to quell a real struggle from Nigerian students, even though these officers are also victims of the system whose children are affected in the same way as we are.
“Today’s protest at Muritala Muhammed International Airport (national and international wing) is just a preamble of what will happen in the coming days. And we are informing the general public and the international community to pay close attention to this fight because we have been duly informed of the federal government’s plan to mobilize vigorously against this protest.
“This was also seen today when riot police officers and Air Force men moved to attack us until they were stopped by the mass of Nigerian students. “We believe this protest will last a week here in the state of Lagos and will take place at the same time as Muritala Muhammed International Airport, the Nigerian Port Authority and the third mainland bridge until our demands are met.
Remember that NANS grounded Murtala Muhammed International Airport on Monday. Students could be seen holding banners with inscriptions: “No nation can develop without a real commitment to education” and “If you have money for elections, you can finance education.”
The protest was met by a traffic jam amidst the presence of a combined team of agents from the Lagos State Police Command, the Rapid Response Team, the Lagos Airport Police Command and other security agencies.
African Action Congress presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore also joined the students in the protest.