Last Monday, students of the Federal Polytechnic in Offa (OFFA POLY), Kwara State disrupted traffic on the Offa-Erin Ile Expressway, protesting the continued closure of their institution because of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) strike. AFEEZ ADEYEMO and JENNIFER UMEH (ND II Mass Communication) report.

•Students protest teachers' strike

When will polytechnics re-open? This was the question students of the Federal Polytechnic in Offa (Offa Poly), Kwara State have sought an answer to.

Aggrieved by the school's continued closure and disruption of their studies, the students thronged the campus last Monday to protest what they called "government insensitivity" their plight.

They said suspension of their academic pursuit was making their life meaningless, threatening to disrupt activities in government offices and ministries if the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) strike is not called off. They described ASUP members as "selfish unionists".

Travellers were stranded for hours, as the placards-carrying demonstrators disrupted traffic on the Offa-Erin Ile Expressway.

Some of the inscriptions on their placards read: "Students are not smiling", "Resumption is a must", "We are forgetting what we are being taught" and "We want to be on campus, not home" among others.

After a four-month strike, ASUP declared indefinite action last October, following the government's alleged failure to implement the 2009 agreement signed by both parties. The polytechnic teachers are demanding adequate funding of technological education, improved infrastructure and equality of polytechnics' Higher National Diploma and universities' Bachelor's degree, among others.

The protesters, who converged on the institution's main gate, told the management to opt out of the strike and re-open the campus. They said they could not afford to remain idle because of the consequence to their future.

The presence of riot policemen and officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) did not stop the students from making their grievances known to passersby. They barricaded the school entrance, preventing workers from entering.

Addressing the protesters, Festus Adedeji, president of the Students' Union Government (SUG), said the striking lecturers and the government were using the strike to torture students physically and psychologically.

He said all efforts by the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) to bring both sides to the negotiating table failed because none agreed to discuss until there is "a level of compromise".

Quoting the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, who said the government had met 80 per cent of the ASUP demands, Festus said the Prof Chibuzor Asomugha-led ASUP was inconsiderate by saying it would not return to work until the union's demands were met.

Festus said the students' union had liaised with the management and the local chapter of ASUP to back out of the action in students' interest, but the request was not granted.

He said: "Several efforts have been made to make the school resume, but it appears our future is nothing to be compared with the personal interest of members of management and our lecturers. We have tried to cooperate with both local ASUP and management to find a way to adopt a system that would make students return to campus as was done at the Federal Polytechnic in Ilaro (ILARO POLY) and the Federal Polytechnic in Ado-Ekiti (ADO POLY), but all our pleas and ideas were turned down.

"Our personality and rights have been totally infringed on. It appears polytechnics' students are no more in existence. This is why we decided to gather today in order to let the world know the difficulties we have been encountering since ASUP declared strike. We can no longer tolerate closure of our school after a bloody communal crisis between Offa and Erin-Ile, which sent us on one month compulsory vacation, the ASUP is compounding our woes with its indefinite strike."

If the school is not re-opened immediately, the protesters said they would consider all means to make things unbearable for management and the government. Festus urged the students to be peaceful in their conduct, saying their agitation would be fruitful.

As the demonstration was becoming intense, the Deputy Rector (Academics), Mr B.O. Saliu and Dean of Students' Affairs (DSA) Mr Leonard Adeyemi moved to the scene to plead with the students, urging them to remain calm and pray for timely resolution of the disagreement.

The duo assured the protesters that the national executive of the ASUP was working to end the strike.

Some of the aggrieved students, who spoke with our correspondents, said they could no longer remain idle at home, describing the ASUP strike as "abnormal situation", which must be tackled with "abnormal approach".

Olaitan Kasali, an ND 1 Science Laboratory Technology student, said students had been pushed to the wall, a situation that resulted to the demonstration. "We have been looking forward to this type of action since the commencement of strike. I am tired of being idle at home, while my peers in other schools are studying. Why should we be made to suffer for other people's interest? There has to be an end to the strike now, or let my school back out of it."

Students are not happy with the prolonged strike, Hammed Adegbenle, an ND II Business Administration student said, adding that the obstruction of traffic was an indication that students were not happy with their lecturers' action.

Tolulope Ojo, an HND II Accountancy student, said landlords were exploiting the situation to extort money from students. He said: "My landlord has been disturbing him to pay the rent, but where will I get the money from? My parents have stopped giving me money because my mates are now serving. Where am I today?" he queried.

Ahmed Olayinka, an ND II student of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, said the students' union should dialogue with the management and local chapter of ASUP so as not to complicate matters. He said: "I am not totally in tune with the idea of protest because no war is won in the battle field. Dialogue has always been a powerful weapon. We have to know that education is in a critical state in Nigeria, but we should not compound the situation with baseless protest. We have to constructively engage the lecturers and the government to resolve the crisis."

At the time of this report, CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the local ASUP was meeting on whether to return to work or not. Our correspondents learnt that the lecturers' union agreed to convene a congress, after which a resumption date may be announced.