What has your journey into campus politics been like over the years?
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) is undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s most formidable unions that has continued to serve as an active resistance group to the oppression and maltreatment of students. The union has the primary mandate of ensuring that the welfare and interest of Nigerian students are met at all times via collaboration and cooperation with relevant authorities.
We are involved in the long-time struggles to improve the political and socio-economic conditions of students on the campuses through consistent advocacy for infrastructural development, proper funding and above all democratization of the education sector.
What are your challenges?
We have been facing a lot of challenges ranging from the tyrannical nature of some vice-chancellors and managements of institutions that at will proscribed student unions and illegally victimized student leaders. This onslaught has succeeded in killing the spirit of the local Students Union Government (SUG) to champion a genuine cause for the advancement of the welfare and interest of students. Also, the national economic crises have undermined the ability of students to properly pay the annual capitation fee which is used in running of the day to day activities of NANS. This has led to the steady decline and collapse of the internally generated revenue of the association.
What is your view on the ongoing ASUU strike?
The inaction of the federal government which compelled the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to embark on industrial action is an attempt by the ruling elite to highjack and subjugate the future of the Nigerian youth.
The truth of the matter is that all ASUU demands from the federal government are implementable but this administration is insensitive about addressing them. No right thinking administration will relent on investing in the education of its youth because education is the greatest investment any nation which seeks to be relevant in the global sphere can make. In developed societies education is viewed as a major catalyst for growth and yardstick by which a nation’s economic and human capital development index is measured.
While some African countries with smaller GDP invested more on education to support learning and teaching, Nigerian leaders have not been able to give the education sector the attention it truly deserves.
ASUU on their part should be more pragmatic and progressive in the process of negotiation because we the students are at the receiving end of the industrial action and it is an obvious fact that most students in Nigerian universities are from low income families and the rich politicians do not even enroll their children in Nigerian universities. This is the reason the leadership of the country continues to pay lip service to the educational sector, while exposing their children to the highest standard of education abroad; in Europe, America and Middle East.
What is the position of NANS on the strike action?
The entire executive, senate and zonal structures of NANS are united on this and have issued a unified press statement on this matter. The industrial action by ASUU is a child of necessity and we condemn the federal government in strongest terms for making the academic environment unhealthy and appeal that it explores the path of honesty and act with wisdom to honour the ASUU-FG 2009 agreement.
