Nigerian students stage protest, demand reopening of tertiary institutions
Students of tertiary institutions on Wednesday took to the streets, urging the Federal Government to reopen tertiary institutions that have remained shut down as part of efforts to check the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The students aired their voices during a peaceful protest in Abuja.
The protest was held simultaneously at two venues- Unity Fountain and at the Ministry of Education, both in the Federal Capital Territory.
The President of the National Association of University Students, Ejigah Felix, spoke on behalf of the students. He said that tertiary institutions had been closed for too long.
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He further held that it was wrong for political campaigns to be allowed while schools remained closed.
“How do you close our universities, polytechnics and other academic institutions and you are telling people that you want to stop the virus? Our demands are that our schools should be reopened.
“Every time that government has issue with ASUU, it is the students that are at the receiving end. Everybody who is in school for a four-year programme ends up spending six or more years.
“We want the government to stop putting our generation at risk. Students are about wasting one year at home and this is not good for the Nigerian students.”
Felix suggested that the same precautionary measures put in place for the reopening of markets and worship centres should be adopted for the reopening of schools.
