The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has blocked roads leading to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos today September 19, 2022.
The mass action is in continuation of their protest against the ongoing industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
Students, who defied the heavy downpour, caused gridlock on the road leading to the airport leaving many travellers stranded.
The Nation observed operatives from the Lagos State Police Command, RRS operatives, Lagos Airport Police Command, and other security agencies are on ground.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions such as; “No Work, No Pay is a Fascist Talk. Pay Our Lecturers” and “No Education, No Movement”.
Some members of NANS in the South-west region had on Thursday staged a similar protest on the Gbongan-Ibadan highway in Osun State, causing gridlock.
Similar protests had also held across major parts of the country some months ago until the students were seemingly fagged out and awaited the outcome of the negotiations between the striking unions and the government.
At the time, all the university based workers unions including the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Other Allied Institutions (NASU), Senior Staff Associatuion of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) had also declared strike.
However, in August, while other unions suspended their more than five-month-old strikes, giving the government ultimatums to accede to their requests, ASUU opted to continue the industrial action and declared it indefinite, citing government’s decision to jetisson its earlier negotiated agreements through its appointed committees.
Following the stalemate and the emergence of a new NANS leadership with Usman Barambu from the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, as the president, the union has renewed its threat to ground major activities nationwide.
NANS said part of its strategies is to obstruct movements across major airports “so that the members of the elite and the ruling class can be reminded of the plight of the university students.”
More details Shortly…
