TheCable

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), on Thursday, continued their protest over the ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The protest left motorists and commuters stranded for several hours on the Ibadan-Ife-Ilesa expressway.

The development comes hours after the students blocked the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

ASUU had embarked on strike since February 14 over issues of inadequate funding of public universities, among others.

According to NAN, the students defied the presence of security operatives and officers of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), and displayed placards with various inscriptions, while chanting solidarity songs.

Addressing journalists, Emmanuel Adegboyega, south-west coordinator of NANS, said the students would not relent until the schools resume.

“We insist that government must fund education and not look down on children of the masses, because their own children are schooling abroad,” he said.

“We will continue to occupy the major roads 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.”

In another protest, students demonstrated on the Gbongan-Ibadan expressway.

Speaking with NAN, Akinteye Afeez, NANS national vice-president for external affairs, said the protest is to let the government know students are unhappy over the strike.

“As we speak, the strike is having serious effects on us and we are not happy about it,” he said,

“This is just a preamble because we are taking the protest gradually until the strike is called off.

”We started the protest in Sango-Ota, then to the toll gate in Ibadan, and today, we are in Gbongan.

“This is just a warning. We are tired of staying at home and we want an urgent solution to the strike.”

On his part, Abidemi Adeleke, the NANS chairman in Oyo state, reacted to the comment by Babatunde Fashola, the minister of works, in which the latter had said students restricting vehicular movement while protesting is “illegal”.

Adeleke said the protests will continue until the strike is called off.

“We are not moved by whatever name our protest is tagged. All we want is to return to the classrooms,” he said.

“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 students were said to have allowed vehicles to pass at 3pm, but not after appeals from stranded motorists and commuters.

Speaking on the development, Umaru Bamaiyi, the Gbongan unit commander of the FRSC, said his officers were on ground to ensure the free flow of traffic.