KEY POINTS

• NANS vows to shut down infrastructure if strike proceeds.

• ASUU insists government must honor outstanding agreements.

• Students say strike actions unfairly hurt children of the poor.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has threatened to shut down airports, highways, and government offices across the country if the Federal Government fails to avert a nationwide strike being considered by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Emmanuel Adejuwon, NANS Assistant General Secretary, said on Monday in Abuja that students would not remain passive while their futures were repeatedly disrupted. He accused both government and ASUU of jeopardizing education, insisting that strike actions disproportionately punish children from poor backgrounds while political elites remain untouched.

NANS insists strike must not paralyze education

Adejuwon warned that students were prepared to bring the nation to a standstill if the strike went ahead. “Let it be on record: if this strike is not averted, we will bring the country to a standstill until the future of Nigerian students is secured,” he said.

The NANS leader argued that strike actions only deepen the suffering of ordinary Nigerians who struggle to keep their children in school. Politicians’ children, he said, are insulated because they study abroad or in private universities. “If the children of these politicians were in our public institutions, this issue would have been resolved immediately,” Adejuwon declared.

He called on the Federal Government to honor its obligations to ASUU without delay, accusing authorities of endless promises and insincerity. At the same time, he urged ASUU to reconsider using strike as its primary bargaining tool, warning that it further damages students’ academic calendars and undermines the quality of education.

ASUU presses demands as tensions escalate

ASUU branches nationwide, meanwhile, renewed their threats of industrial action, citing the Federal Government’s refusal to implement key agreements. Zonal leaders demanded the immediate adoption of the Yayale Ahmed report, which they say captures unresolved issues including funding, unpaid allowances, withheld salaries, and university autonomy.

Prof. Biodun Olaniran, ASUU’s Zonal Coordinator in Ibadan, warned that the government’s credibility rested on whether it acted on the report. In Abuja, Prof. Al-Amin Abdullahi added that sustained neglect of university funding risked mortgaging Nigeria’s future.

According to Punch, ASUU leaders also rejected the Tertiary Institution Staff Loan Scheme, calling it a “poison chalice” and a diversion from overdue salary negotiations. Dr. Ikechukwu Igwenyi, ASUU Calabar Zonal Coordinator, said the scheme mocked workers already struggling with arrears, poor pay, and underfunded universities.

With a crucial meeting scheduled for August 28, both ASUU and NANS have signaled that time is running out for the Federal Government to avert disruption in the education sector.