EKSU students lament over their lecturers' endless strike

It's been six straight weeks of no academic activities in the institution as lecturers vow to continue the industrial action until the government pay the eight-month salaries it's owing them.

The situation is already taking its toll on the students, as freshmen who just gained admission into the school are becoming restless while final year students are getting frustrated over the lecturers' strike.

The university students have been reacting to the endless strike and some of them who spoke with The Sun expressed their worries and frustration about the situation.

A 100-level undergraduate of the Department of Theatre and Media Arts, Ifeoluwa Sanusi said, “I have just got admitted and had been hopeful for a very busy and challenging learning experience. but then the school was shut down on January 16, and we have been here doing nothing. Efforts to read on our own have been boring and unchallenging, as there is no lecturer to guide you."

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Another 100-level student of the Department of English and Literary Studies, Maryan Ayodele said, “This strike is not good for us, especially those of us that are still freshmen. We are not happy because we are being delayed for no fault of ours. We are even losing confidence in the system. We appeal to the government to urgently heed the lecturers’ demand. They should just find a way and solve this problem once and for all and on time too. The campus has become a ghost town and everyone has left''

Begging the government and the lecturers, a 300 level student of the university said both parties should find a solution.

“This strike is just delaying me and my future. I want both the teachers and the government to urgently find a solution to the crisis and let us resume for lectures.”

However, while many students appealed to both parties to find a lasting solution to the problem, others put the blame on the Governor Ayo Fayose administration’s failure to pay salaries.

One of such student is a 200 level undergraduate simply identified as Oluwaseun, who said the lecturers should not be blamed for the strike.

He said, “We learnt that our lecturers are on strike to demand some understanding from the government on the reduction of taxes that the government imposed on their salaries, and which they didn’t like. The lecturers also want the government to pay their outstanding salaries for eight months.

''We learnt that there is this disagreement over how many months should first be paid. I think the government is offering less than five months, which is what the lecturers want. For us as students, we would rather pitch our tents with the lecturers because they are also parents and have their own children and other responsibilities to take care of''.

You will recall that the the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Samuel Oye Bandele had warned students who are cult members to quit the institution before they are caught.