Only a few hours before the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) planned a two-day nationwide protest calling on the federal government to settle the entitlements of striking lecturers, bizarre events rocked Ile-Ife on Monday when primary school students staged a peaceful demonstration to urge the federal government to find a long-term solution to the grievances of university lecturers.
Primary school students from Sunshine Nursery and Primary School in Ile-Ife arrived outside the Obafemi Awolowo University main campus gate as early as 9:00 a.m., equipped with placards bearing various inscriptions.
The students, aged four to seven, carried banners with messages such as “I am the future ASUU, make no mistake about it,” “Adamu Adamu, are you there?” and “Don’t borrow our future away,” among others.
While their female teachers sang “students, what do you want?” the students sang in unison, “I see ASUU, fighting for me.”
The students’ actions, however, drew the attention of bystanders, resulting in traffic jam at the university’s gate for more than an hour.
In response to the demonstration, Dr Adeola Egbedokun, Chairman of OAU ASUU, stated that the demonstrators urged the federal government to consider the future of students and terminate the strike.
It will be recalled that the striking lecturers have been on strike for the past five months as a result of the federal government’s apathetic attitude toward offsetting their outstanding allowances.
However, the event has hampered academic activity at Nigerian universities, causing students to remain indoors in their respective houses.