Nigerian tertiary institutions, endless strikes, and me.

I was so happy to finally be going to a tertiary institution even though I had not stayed long at home. I actually just wanted to leave home and begin my new life at the polytechnic where I had gained admission. I paid the acceptance fees, school fees, got an accomodation, and had began the registration process when ASUP began their strike.

Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) began their strike and instructed all students to return home and not lurk around the school premises because no one knew when the strike would end. At first we were told it would end in maximum of two months, but then, we counted the first, second, third, months and nothing happened. The body were completely ignored by the government while all staff of Polytechnics remained in their houses. The students? We were all at home waiting for the government to at least say something.

I was back at home counting down to an end that wasn't in sight. We had no idea when the strike would end, so I decided to not waste my time further and just maybe get a job as a typist or a class teacher, but nobody would employ me knowing that I could leave anytime soon even though the "soon" was unknown. So, I was home counting down to the long days of waiting for the government to either respond or that the body would consider us the students and just put an end to the strike, but nothing happened until six months later when the government eventually made a promise to fulfill all their demands.

In between being in school, the strike repeatedly happened until I spent three years plus to study a two years course. Finally, I graduated, and decided to further my studies in the university, so, I applied again. Then, I jammed the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The exact year I gained admission into the university, ASUU embarked on an indefinite strike. This time, I was able to secure a job that paid a token because I wasn't a graduate yet. Half a loaf is better, yeah? So, I got the job, prayed, and waited for the strike to end. Nine months later when the non-teaching staff and senior bodies of universities joined the strike, federal government finally listened to their demands and made a promise yet again. So, the strike action was suspended.

I thought that was the end, but it wasn't. Right from the year I gained admission till the year I graduated, the strike action intermittently continued delaying students, and destroying plans. Eventually, I spent over five years, when I was supposed to spend four years in the university.

The Nigerian higher institutions, especially state and federal government-owned institutions are not the ones that you can plan a time around. Meaning, if your course is a four-years course, spending a minimum of one year extra is luck. So, I counted myself lucky to graduate at the time I did. Sadly, it has become a norm here, and our minds are always prepared.

Most of my friends that gained admission late graduated at over 30, so they didn't have the opportunity to neither go for the service to their county nor get a job because the companies wanted someone below 30 years.

Now, you wonder how the strike actions affected me? So many plans that I had went down the drain. The opportunities I had my eyes on slipped right out of my hands because I was an undergraduate. The "perfect" plans that I had were disrupted. The mental effects this had on me wasn't little, but here I am, trying to get it together once more.

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