Market Women Protesting ASUU Strike
As strike embarked upon by members of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) reaches its fourth month, market women stormed the Ministry of Education in Abuja, demanding that that the strike should be called off.
The protesters under the umbrella of National Market Women Association, also took their grieve to the Office of the Head of Service, and the National Assembly complex, with different placards saying ASUU should call off the strike with immediate effect.
Speaking to journalist, the President-General of the group, Mrs Felicia Sani, described ASUU strike as cheap blackmail.
“We are tired of seeing our children at home. We want our children back in school. Enough of this cheap blackmail.
“We all know what they do with our year-one daughters in the university. We equally know that they sell handouts and handbooks.
“Is this not worse than corruption of the highest order?”, she said.
When she was asked about the reason why the group did not apportion blame to the Federal Government for not reaching an agreement with ASUU, she said: “Which agreement? How do you expect lecturers in state universities to earn same salaries as Federal ones? That is impossible.
“We are not educated, but you do not expect a hotel in my village to cost same price as a hotel in Abuja.
“They are located in different places. So how can a state university lecturer earn same salary with his federal counterpart?
“We are begging them for the last time. If we come out again we may have to chase them out of this country and replace them with so many jobless Nigerians.”