Demonstrators shut federal secretariat in Ibadan •OAU students: no resumption, no governorship election in Osun
Many students and passersby were injured yesterday, as soldiers dispersed protesters, who had occupied the Ilesha-Akure-Owo highway over the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The protesters from various tertiary institutions in the state blocked the highway with canopies and set up a musical stage.
They brought gas and pots to cook on the highway.
A few hours into the protest, which entered its second day yesterday, some soldiers, who were passing through the state, approached the students and told them to allow them pass through.
The students’ leaders insisted that the soldiers would not pass.
This infuriated the soldiers, who fired gunshots into the air to disperse the students.
The protesting students fled the scene, while passersby and stranded motorists abandoned their vehicles.
All the canopies and musical sets were destroyed and free flow of traffic was restored.
At press time, the students had begun converging for another protest.
The National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) had earlier asked students to protest at least three hours a day to force the Federal Government to accede to ASUU’s demands.
A source at the 32 Artillery Brigade in Akure said the soldiers were not from the command.
Some of the students told The Nation that the number of injured students was yet to be ascertained.
The federal secretariat in Ikolaba, Ibadan, Oyo State was yesterday shut down by students protesting ASUU strike.
The students carried placards with inscriptions such as: “Education is a right, not a privilege”, “I ‘sha’ want to graduate ‘sha’”, “We are tired of staying at home”, “Education is a right, it should be free for all”, among others
The protesters, who gathered around 8am in front of the University of Ibadan (UI), proceeded to the federal secretariat, paralysing activities.
The Students’ Union Government (SUG) President, UI chapter, Adewole Adeyinka, said over 40,000 students of the institution were forced to stay at home due to the industrial action.
The Special Assistant to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde on Students Affairs, Mr. Victor Olojede, appealed to the Federal Government to listen to ASUU before the strike got out of hand.
Students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State yesterday said if the Federal Government failed to address the ASUU strike, they would thwart the coming 2022 Osun State governorship election.
They blocked the Ibadan/Ife road to demand end of the strike.
The students carried placards and chanted anti-government songs.
The Vice-President, Students’ Union Government, OAU, Grace Aworanti, said: “We warned the government not to allow the students move to the streets before resolving their impasse with ASUU. Now that we are here, we will continue to protest until the schools are reopened.”
-Thenation
