Students of the University of Benin UNIBEN on Wednesday, February 16, barricaded the ever-busy Benin-Ore-Sagamu expressway over the strike embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
On Monday February 14, ASUU declared a four-week warning strike after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Lagos as part of way to compel the Federal Government to implement the renegotiated 2009 agreement it had with the government.
The entrance of the Ugbowo campus of the university was blocked as they were, chanting slogans and solidarity songs like “aluta continua…” and “education is our right,” among others.
Speaking on behalf of the protesting students, the President of the Students Union Government (SUG) in the institution, Foster Amadin, said
“Since two days now, we have been to our classes and there have not been lecturers to teach us. So we have nothing to do. We asked what was happening and they told us ASUU is on strike again; that they are on one-month warning strike.
So we now felt that we should come to the street to say we are tired. We hereby express our grievances to the federal government, to the state government and whoever cares to listen and. We say we are tired.
We want to graduate. For a programme that is supposed to run for four years, we are spending five years and even more. We don’t want it anymore. Let the federal government see to the demands of ASUU and let ASUU also consider the federal government’s position.
All we want is to go back to our classes. I want to graduate; I want to leave the school. I am tired and that is our grievance”
