An ultimatum was given. Salaries have not been paid for 5 months. Lecturers were complaining. We students knew where this was heading to. On the 14th day of april, ASUU KSU chapter declared strike.
The announcement of the strike action brought about different reactions,some student were happy,others were sad. Exams timetables were been pasted in different faculties, gst/csc fee were been paid. 100 level students even felt their first exam cards, oh,how bad. Students were aggrieved,oh how sad. Its started gently,ten days have gone,its going steadily,something is wrong. This is where we find ourselves, in this "condulum",the story still continues,this is the strike pendulum.
WHAT WE ARE SAYING :
Happiness,sadness,mixed feeling,we all said something. Some said its the best thing since toast bread,others said its the worst thing since boko haram. Its understandable though,news like this generate polarizing reactions from students. In this case,some students embraced the strike with both arms and legs,probably because they aren't really prepared for the exam,probably because some just gained admission,probably because some are mighty stressed out,or probably because they just needed a break to go home.
The other side of the coin are students who,upon hearing the news didn't flash a tooth out of 32 God giving teeth. This group also have their reason. Its probably because they just wanted to sustain the momentum and go straight into the exams,or probably because they understand that strikes are disruptive tho the school calendar and prolongs the your normal school time.
Which ever group you fall into we've all accepted our fates,and we are trying to look forward. The problem now is the forward looks so so dim right now. Its an indefinite strike,we don't know when its going to be called off. Some students are saying 3 months,some are saying two months,some are saying 4 months,others are saying in a short while,all this scenarios are bad,and even if they decide to call it off now,probably tomorrow what will happen to the who have traveled really long distance ?? In this situation both the bush meat and the hunter are lonst in woods,nobody knows where and how to catch the other.
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING :
They aren't saying much. Some metings with the Governor of the state,who happens to be cleaning pig load of mess. Its funny though,they say they are on an "INDUSTRIAL ACTION" of "NO PAY,NO WORK",whatever that means. Well,it happens that even people we call academic lecturers themselves need a little bit of IQ lecturing. First and foremost, they say they are not on strike,that they are on an industrial action(something of the sort),what's the difference between strike and industrial action abeg ??
Oxford dictionary states that industrial action are Action taken by employees of a company as a protest,especially striking or working to rule.
Strike however is when refuse to work as a form of organized protest, typically in an attempt to obtain a particular concession or concessions from their employer.
So what's the difference really ??
Secondly,did it ever occur to them to take a step during that five months of working without pay,because if they did it would have been easier to pay them off by now. You wonder,I wonder,we all wonder.
WHAT'S NEXT :
Its either they keep striking(industrial action more like) or get paid and call it off soon. We keep our fingers crossed,whatever the case may be the pendulum will not stop swinging.
- By J.L.O
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