ASUU Strike: UNILAG Gate Is Heavily Guarded As Students Prepare To Protest 

The strike, now in its fourth month, has forced public universities to close since its inception, allegedly because the Federal Government had failed to meet the lecturers’ demands.

By Omotayo Olutekunbi

Following a planned demonstration by a group of students against the Academic Staff Union of Universities’ prolonged strike action, a team of security personnel, including men from the Nigeria Police Force, were stationed outside the University of Lagos’ main entrance in Akoka.

Earlier last week, student organisations announced nationwide protests for Tuesday. The University of Ibadan main gate, UNILAG main gate, and several sites in Edo State were all included in part of the flyers acquired by our reporter.

A heavy security presence was spotted at UNILAG’s main gate this morning. Some students gathered outside the main entrance of UI under the banner of the “Fund Education Coalition,” with captions such as “we say no to commercialisation of education,” “every one of us must rise to defend education,” and “we stand with ASUU revitalisation demand,” 

The strike, now in its fourth month, has forced public universities to close since its inception, allegedly because the Federal Government had failed to meet the lecturers’ demands.

“We are converging now,” one of the students at the UI convergence site for the demonstration stated to our correspondent, Solomon Emiola.

The government has been accused by ASUU of failing to pay academic earned allowances, continuing to utilise the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System, and refusing to embrace the Universities Transparency and Accountability Solution, among other things.