By Bisi Olawunmi
Academic Staff Union of Universities has gone for broke with its declaration of indefinite strike, ending its roll-over strategy since its February 14, 2022 call out of lecturers in public universities. The union must have decided to force issues, considering that in recent times, momentum has been building up against the six-month-old strike by ASUU that has grounded academic activities in publicly owned universities across the nation.
The
lecturers are being backed to the wall as Federal Government negotiators, its
spokespersons and critics, mainly on social and print media,
project ASUU members as self-serving, overindulged and lacking empathy
for their students. The broadcast media are not left out as the ASUU strike has
been the subject of discussion and phone-in programmes on radio and television
stations.
Editorial writers and columnists are having a field day, pontificating on the face-off. The initial groundswell of support for ASUU is gradually giving way to a weariness-induced attitude of e don do (enough is enough) by a growing segment of the public. It is understandable. Those who have been largely parents, in absentia, are being compelled to be parents, in situ, for six continuous months and many are not finding it easy. It has occasioned frayed nerves at the family level.
