by ‘Jola Sotubo

In a bid to demand an end to the ongoing three month old strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), a group of market women under the umbrella of the National Market Women Association took their grievances to the National Assembly in a peaceful protest.

Before arriving at the legislative house at  about 11.30a.m yesterday, the protesters first made stops at the Ministry of Education and Office of the Head of Service to make their demands.

However, unlike most protests targeted at the Federal Government, the traders are laying the blame for the crippling of the nation’s academic activities at ASUU’s doorstep.

Vanguard reports:

President-General of the group, Mrs Felicia Sani, who led the more than 200 protesting women, said: “We are tired of seeing our children at home. We want our children back in school. Enough of this cheap blackmail.

“We all know what they do with our year-one daughters in the university. We equally know that they sell handouts and handbooks.

“Is this not worse than corruption of the highest order?”

Asked why she did not criticise the Federal Government for failing to reach an agreement with ASUU, Mrs Sani said: “Which agreement? How do you expect lecturers in state universities to earn same salaries as Federal ones? That is impossible.

“We are not educated, but you do not expect a hotel in my village to cost same price as a hotel in Abuja.

“They are located in different places. So how can a state university lecturer earn same salary with his federal counterpart?

“We are begging them for the last time. If we come out again we may have to chase them out of this country and replace them with so many jobless Nigerians.”