S’West NANS justifies ASUU strike, threatens to block federal roads again

The National Association of Nigerian Students, South-West zone, has flayed the National President of NANS, Sunday Asefon, for attacking the Academic Staff Union of Universities over the ongoing strike, and justified the ongoing strike action by the university lecturers.

The South-West Coordinator of NANS, Olatunji Adegboye, in a statement, on Saturday, said students in the region would once again block the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway and other busy federal roads in the South-West if the Federal Government refused to accede to the demands of ASUU.

The students justified the ASUU’s refusal to meet with Asefon, who they described as a betrayer and a  ‘spokesman’ for the Federal Government, who is allegedly working against the interest of students he claims to represent.

The NANS statement read, “Emphatically, we are demanding that the government should yield to the demands of ASUU and bring an end to the strike action. The government should stop shaming itself through the failure to honour the gentlemen agreement it had with ASUU in the past.

“Should the government fail to do the needful, we shall not hesitate to once again shutdown all the highways in the South West zone just as we have displayed a bit of our plans on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway some days ago.

“The South West zone, as the most ideological zone of NANS under our leadership, reaffirm our commitment and solidarity with ASUU and all workers’ union in the developmental interests of the Nigerian state. Our education sector should be given a priority and be well-funded to give qualitative, affordable as well as accessible education to all willing Nigerians.”

The student association said Asefon could not understand the importance of what the lecturers were fighting for because he was never a registered student in any institution of higher learning.

“We  cannot but express our disagreement with the embarrassment which NANS president calls ‘Revolutionary Intervention.’ We are by now more convinced that Sunday Asefon does not understand the basic meaning of the ‘Revolutionary President’ which he sadly calls himself.

“Asefon said in a statement that the national leadership under him is declaring an ultimatum for a battle against ASUU because ASUU’s NEC has refused to meet with him. Without sounding like the spokespersons of ASUU but as a conscious group of students who have closely monitored the steps of Asefon since this ASUU struggle began, we can say that the ASUU NEC is justified for not meeting with him.

“Asefon has presented himself as a betrayer of the people’s struggle to deserve the trust of ASUU. Shall we mention his inglorious stance against June 12 Democracy Day protest? Or his recent visit to the house of Minister of Education (Adamu Adamu) on the night of the day the irresponsible Minister walked out on him following a protest façade!

“In the same statement (by Asefon)  it was stated that ASUU is only using ‘Revitalisation Fund’ to deceive Nigerian students. Let us firstly inform the public that we are conscious of the demands of ASUU and we will not join anybody to ridicule any pro-people struggle of ASUU.

“And no deliberate blackmail to play on the emotions of Nigerian students would work as it is evident that Asefon has placed himself to be a tool of propaganda in the hands of the Federal Government. Even if none of ASUU’s demands would benefit the students directly, is the union not right to fight for the welfare and good working condition of her members?

“As a perpetual student with no valid student identity and no certificate more than secondary schools, we could not have expected much from him. And we understand that he needs to defend the politicians in government who helped him clinch the position of NANS President even though he is not a student and was never a graduate of any tertiary institution in Nigeria,” Adegboye added.

Punch