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Students in some parts of the country notably, Students of Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife came out on Thursday to block the Ife-Ibadan Expressway. They were protesting the ongoing ASUU strike that has kept universities closed.
The students carried placards with different messages. Some of them read:
"If you have money for election form, you have money to fund education"
"When will we graduate?"
"We miss our boyfriends and girlfriends, reopen schools. All with hashtags #Fundeducation and #EndASUUStrike.
The protest stopped traffic on the busy expressway. Students said they are tired of staying at home while the strike continues. They want the government to settle the issues with ASUU and reopen the schools. Similar students agitation has been found in other part of the country.
Many students are angry that government can spend money on political activities but claims there's no money for education. The protest shows that students are getting more frustrated as the strike drags on.
The untold truth about Nigeria Federal universities-
The statement is largely true for most federal universities in Nigeria, especially from around 2013 to 2023.
Because of repeated ASUU strikes, no federal university has maintained a full uninterrupted academic calendar for four straight years. This means even when a course is officially "4 years," students usually end up spending at least 5 years, sometimes 6 or more, depending on the school and how bad the strike period was. I conclude that no course in Nigerian public universities is truly four years even though you're studying toilet management.
Real examples of disruption in the past decade:
- 2013 ASUU Strike – 5 months
- 2016 warning and short strikes
- 2017 strike – 1 month
- 2018 strike – nearly 3 months
- 2020 COVID plus ASUU strike – 9 months total shutdown
- 2022 ASUU strike – 8 months (most damaging)
- 2024 – short strike threat, negotiations still ongoing
So yes, a student admitted in 2025 will only truly graduate in four calendar years if there's no single ASUU nationwide strike until 2029. And that has never happened in the last decade.
Freshers and JUPEB candidates are in a hurry to smell the campus, lecturers are in a hurrying to cash out while the FG is saying no work for lazy man.