Strike: Students ignore Fashola’s warning, block Ibadan-Ile-Ife Highway
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that this was in continuation of the association’s nationwide protest on major highways against the lingering face-off between the Federal Government and their lecturers.
NAN recalls that the students started the protest on Tuesday at the Sagamu interchange, blocking all roads leading to Lagos, Abeokuta and the Southern part of the country.
The agency recalls that ASUU had on Feb. 14, embarked on indefinite strike on the premise of inadequate funding of public universities, among other demands.
NAN, also reports that the blockage, which started at about 12.30 p.m, left many motorists plying the road stranded with their passengers.
All entreaties to the aggrieved students by motorists and commuters, especially those going for one ceremony or the other did not yield any result as they refused bluntly to open the road.
Even, the presence of the security personnel, especially the police, Federal Road Safety Corps, could not help matter as the students insisted that they would not leave the road until their demands were met by the Federal Government.
The protesting students, armed with placards of various inscriptions, were chanting solidarity songs, saying that they were tired of staying at home and demanded an end to the strike.
Some of the protesting students chanting solidarity songs on highway.
Commenting, Emmanuel Olatunji Adegboyega, the South-West Coordinator of NANS, said the government should brace up as the students were tired of sitting idle at home.
Adegboyega said that the students would not relent until they go back to school.
He said: “We insist that government must fund education and not look down on children of the masses, because their own children are schooling abroad.
“We will continue to occupy the major roads live and better still, we will go to Abuja and ensure that we make our voices heard. But, we will not stop until ASUU strike is called off.”
Also, Mr Abidemi Adeleke, the NANS Chairman in Oyo State, said that only the Minister of Works, Babatunde Fashola had responded to the students’ protest through the media.
According to Adeleke, Fasola described our protest as illegal, but he didn’t see non payment of lecturers’ salaries as illegal.
“We are not moved by whatever name our protest is tagged, all we want is to return back to the classrooms.
“We are live now at Gbongan Expressway. Let them answer us and not tag our being on the highways as illegal, because we will not stop until we can go back to schools.”
However, the NANS leadership later agreed to open the highway at exactly 3.00 p.m, after pleadings from the stranded motorists and commuters.
Speaking few minutes after opening the road, NANS Vice President, External Affairs, Akinteye Afeez said the blockade is just a tip of the iceberg of the the Federal Government and ASUU refused to resolve the imbroglio and allow students return to the classrooms.
“We started from Shagamu express road, on Wednesday, we were at Ibadan and Thursday at Ife-Ibadan express road. Tomorrow, Friday, we will lockdown Ore-Lagos express road in a bid to forced the FG to implore ASUU to suspend strike and allow students return to classrooms.
“If nobody listens to us by Monday, we will surprise everyone where we will go next. We will shut that route that matters to those in government and cripple the economy”, he said.
However, a NANS stakeholder in the state said that the student group’s target is to shutdown the Muritala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.
Meanwhile one of the motorists, who identified himself as Joseph, said the situation at the Highway was hectic, lamenting that his journey from Ekiti to Lagos which ordinarily is supposed to be within four hours has turned into seven hours journey.
