Strikes and protests are a sign of revolt by the people against a system or an organization. It usually projects the people's dismay or dissatisfaction about one happening or another; it could also be a cry for reconsideration of a bill or decision that the people deem bad. Through the years, I've witnessed several protests and strikes, both those that affected me and those that didn't, and today I'll love to tell you about a few of them.
Being a Nigerian, strikes and protests have been almost an annual thing that you tend to witness more than twice a year, and this can literally happen anywhere, from health workers to educators to labor unions and the like. Just name it; I've seen it all right from when I was just a boy. Just recently, about a month ago, the labor union embarked on a five-day strike to show their dissatisfaction with the minimum wage being paid to workers and a need to review it for the betterment of civil servants.
I'm affected by this strike because I myself was a public servant, so I had to sit at home during the period of this strike. Even though I love my job and want to be there to shape the future of these young kids, the need for my financial stability can't be downplayed, and so I agree with a cry for a new minimum wage being demanded by the labor union. Although now the strikes have been called off even though nothing has been done regarding the minimum wage, I hope it'll be done because it's more or less like those at the forefront of the protest have been bribed, and now they've called off the strikes even though our demand hasn't been met.
But then, that aside, one of the strikes and protests that affected me the most had to be during my undergraduate days. Back then, when I was in school, Asuu (the Academic Staff Union of Universities) could hardly go a year without striking, and even though I understood they'd be looking out for themselves and their wellbeing, it still affected me because the time spent on those strikes usually led to delays for us, the students, who had to spend more years than expected in the university due to the constant strikes.
For instance, I was in the 300th grade at the University of Ekiti when my junior brother gained admission to the University of Ilorin, which happens to be a federal university that wasn't affected by the Asuu strike, and you won't believe it that my junior brother ended up graduating before me because he wasn't affected by such strikes. I was devastated because it was a delay for me to have to spend six years on a four-year course, even though I had no extra year. I wonder how many years those who have an extra year will end up spending at the university.
Another such situation where I was affected by protest was also during my undergraduate days. Despite how often we go on strikes and get delayed, at a point the institution increases our tuition fees by 110%, and it was just so ridiculous for us to swallow. We know our parents can't afford that, so most of us decide to protect against having such amounts as our tuition fees. During the protest, the institution's management paid some notorious gangsters to come into the school as though they were students and start destroying properties.
That happened, and we were surprised to see those people do so because all we wanted to do was a peaceful protest. At the end of the day, we were all asked to pay a 20,000-naira damages fee and to also sign an affidavit in court to never engage in any form of protest again throughout our days in the school.It was a difficult pill to swallow, but we did because we all wanted to continue our studies. Luckily, the tuition fee was later reduced, but we still pay that damages fee. It's just annoying, even though the management staged the attack to make it look like we're the ones destroying school properties.
There are several other cases of protest and strikes I've witnessed that affected me, but I'd like to draw this writeup to a close here. Thanks so much for your time. I hope you enjoyed the read. Do have a wonderful day and stay blessed.
All photos are taken and edited on canva
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