One million Nigerian students would storm Lagos on Saturday to protest against unbearable hardship in the land and frequent attacks on them and their parents by the authorities, they said at a press conference on Wednesday.
The students said President Muhammadu Buhari’s ‘anti-people and anti-poor’ policies have failed and have exacerbated poverty in the land and campuses. They are hurting them and their parents and the time to act has come, they added.
The students said the decision to protest on the same day Nigeria would be marking its 56th independence anniversary was taken on September 8 during the All Nigerian Students’ Summit organised by the Alliance of Nigerian Students Against Neo-Liberal Attacks, an umbrella of students known by the acronym ANSA.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday at International Press Centre (IPC) in Ogba, ANSA Convener, Mr. Wole Oyebanji, predicted that the mass action would be successful.
“Do not be in doubt; the attacks on us are induced by a failed government that has obstinately refused to depart from the neo-liberal, pro-rich, elitist policies of previous regimes,” he said.
He added: “While education is underfunded at this period in the economic history of the country, the government continues to service the extravagant lifestyle of political office holders with a bulk of the national budget. Change must start with cutting the jumbo salaries of these politicians, which we demand must be immediately slashed down to the average work and allowances of a skilled worker.
“If it were to be an activist, he would have been guilty of disrespecting the elders that reached that decision. It is necessary to know that no fundamental change or growth accompanies this creative or extortionate fund-generating mechanism. As these authorities are unable to fund municipal facilities, pay their staffs and we start to wonder where the money are., and it is therefore appropriate for students as victim of this extortion, to ask questions on how their fees are being used or how government’s resources are been spent”.
The students said education in Nigeria is underfunded even though the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) advises developing countries like Nigeria to fund education with a minimum of 26% of their annual budget.
According to the General Secretary, Joint Action Force (JAF), Comrade Abiodun Aremu, who joined the students in solidarity, called on them to stand up for what rightfully belongs to them, and shouldn’t wait on anybody be it the government to undermine them.
The Youth Coordinator, Amilcral Cabral Ideological School, Comrade Patrick Osaremen, also called on the students to stand up and fight for their rights, stressing that it is necessary for one to stand up against what is not making one feel balanced.
Labels: ANSA, President Muhammadu Buhari, Wole Oyebanji