ASUU Strike: What We Do in Nightclubs, Event Centers to Survive, University Girls Confess
- The strike action by the ASUU has continued to influence the lifestyle of female students on Nigerian campuses negatively
- This is because some have decided to sell their body in a bid to survive the tide, especially with the present harsh economic realities
- Meanwhile, since the nation's educational body embarked on the industrial action, the fate of the Nigerian students are hanging
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At a restaurant in Wuse 2 Abuja, Monica, also known as Monik, a student of the Kogi State University, looked ready for a conversation.
At first, she had thought a young man had come for her, possibly for her night business. She engaged our correspondent in a conversation, and in the end, she was willing to go with our correspondent to any of the nearby hotels to spend the night.
Source: Facebook
And the conversation continued:
“But you are a student. You shouldn’t be doing this,” our correspondent advised amid her readiness to swim on his bed for the night and for only ten thousand naira. (N10,000).
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Monica said:
“I’m not going to lie about it. What I do these days is far worse than what sex workers do . I can’t just sit at home doing nothing. We all have that beast-like side. This side manifests every time you are idle. I’m not trying to justify what is not right, but at this point, Nigerian students can be justified for whatever they do to survive.”
Abuja students
This conversation is an offshoot of concerns by Nigerians over the influx of young ladies in Abuja who normally converge in the city centres and around nightclubs to get the attention of men.
At a nightclub in Wuse 2, Legit.ng observes that most of the girls who were out to hustle for the night were mainly undergraduates.
In a random interview, no fewer than 10 ladies that interacted with our correspondent complained about the hardship in the country and the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, that have now put them under serious pressure.
A 300 Level student of the University of Abuja who preferred not to be mentioned denied being involved in sex work. According to her, boredom pushes her out of her house every Friday.
She said:
"We are not doing anything wrong. We are only trying to have fun since ASUU has refused to call off its strike and our government has continued to remain insensitive to our plight.
"The hardship and the stress in the land are beyond human comprehension. We must find a way to air off the stress. This is why some of us are out at night. This doesn't mean we are sex workers.
"Of course, if we get close to one or two guys and we benefit from them, it's our luck. Once they call off this strike, the street will surely become empty."
ASUU strike hits 5 months
Recall that ASUU has been on strike since February 14, 2022. All negotiations between the union and the government had constantly failed.
Agitations by the Nigerian students to force both the government and ASUU to return to the negotiation table and find a permanent solution to the incessant strikes by university lecturers have also failed severally.
Most agitations against the continuous closure of the nation’s universities have died down. Currently, only a few people are talking about the ASUU strike.
FG government continues negotiation
In a recent interview on Channels Television, Prof. Emmanuel Osedeke, ASUU president, appealed to the federal government to accept the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) payment platform and signs the 2009 agreement with the union, and they will immediately call off the ongoing strike.
He said:
“Let government tell us they have finished testing the UTAS and sign the agreement, then tomorrow we will call off the strike.”
But the Nigerian government has assured Nigerians that it’s working on ending the ongoing strike.
A statement by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, however, warned the union against bullying the government into signing their preferred payment system.
Idle mind is the devil’s workshop - NANS
But reacting to the development, the South West zonal coordinator of the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Tegbe Stephen Fiyinfoluwa said that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.
While he agreed that the idleness created by the ASUU strike could be responsible for the new way of life by the female students, Tegbe argued that ASUU may not be the main reason why some of the students are into side hustling.
He said:
“You will agree with me that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. Most of these girls were already looking for an opportunity to explore, and ASUU has created the opportunity already. I want to state that it’s only a few of our girls who are involved in the act. There are still good ones among them who stay with their parents and take instructions from them.
“But the truth is that the hardship and the environment we have found ourselves today is capable of exposing us to dangerous ventures. So I will particularly blame the Federal government for refusing to listen to our appeal and agitations. You can see that we are even tired. No one is talking about ASUU strike anymore. Our students have given up.
“But what is exposing most of our girls to this dangerous trend is social media. We are an internet generation and ASUU strike has created that opportunity for many people to network online.”
Nigerians react
Nigerians took to the official Facebook page of Legit.ng and reacted to the development.
For some, the claims of the students should not be justified, for others, there are better opportunities they can take up than sell their bodies.
Adam Abdul said
"That so-called student from Kogi State University you interviewed is a blatant liar, in fact she is worse than Buhari that always received shock because as of today Kogi State Uni is not on strike and not part of ASSU as well."
Akuko Ndi-Igbo lamented
"Instead of organizing a massive protest they prefer clubhouse. Shows how unserious we are."
Nengi Adebusuyi said
"You don carry your hand expose yourself, na so how our corru.pt politicians go expose themselves."
Oluchi Precious said
"Just say its in you cause not everyone is doing what you re doing, there are handwork and others stuffs to learn."
Joseph Ubi said
"Una no go learn skills, be there."
Princess Ilerioluwakiye Abolade said
"So it means when you graduate and you are idle you will still do the same♀️.
"So don’t blame asuu for your stupidity."
Samson Pyop John stated
"You people have been going there even when school is in session, no come lie put for ASUU head."
Leke Owonipa stated
"Pls you have nothing to say all you just said is rubbish."
Dearest Love opined
"These are the kind of girls that set the believe of woman not able to work for their needs."
Is ASUU strike a blessing in disguise? The story of how some Nigerian students are making waves in business
Recall that Legit.ng reported that over the years, Nigerian undergraduates have been under the pain of long strike actions that are always a result of the frictions between the government and ASUU.
Before that question is answered, a brief history of the union is necessary. According to ASUU’s website, the union is an offshoot of the Nigerian Association of University Teachers (NAUT), which was formed in 1965. ASUU formation happened many years after in 1978. This was after the country had enjoyed the oil boom era.
It was reported that ASUU went on its first strike in 1988, which was to show its displeasure over General Ibrahim Babangida's regime. That action led to their proscription in the same year.
Source: Legit.ng
Esther Odili (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Esther Odili is a journalist and a Politics/Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng with 6+ years of experience. Before joining Legit.ng, Esther has worked with other reputable media houses, such as the New Telegraph newspaper and Galaxy Television. She Holds OND and HND in Mass Communication from NIJ, where she was recognized as the best student in print journalism in 2018. Email: esther.odili@corp.legit.ng.
Adoyi Ali Ali Adoyi is a prolific writer and a graduate of the Benue State University, Makurdi, Benue State. Adoyi holds a B.A Theatre and Communications Arts. He has bagged many awards both in academics and in journalism. Some of the awards are 10 years Journalism Merit Award, Best graduating student (Dept) Most Outstanding student (Faculty), and others. Adoyi can be reached here: adoyi.ali@corp.legit.ng
