So, I woke up today to hear that the Nigerian Union of Teachers (N.U.T), the Oyo State Chapter, had declared an indefinite strike action. And as I make this post, the strike action has started and has no end in sight. If you’ve been following my posts, or even the Nigerian news in general, then you would have come across the heartbreaking story of 40+ school children who were abducted from their schools during their morning assembly.
Not just school children, teachers were also taken along with a two-year-old child. All of them were kidnapped and taken to the bush, with one of them getting beheaded. A video was made of the horrific event and then posted. All the captors are most likely in horrific conditions, and they need to be rescued immediately, which is why the government's response should be swift. But so far, they’ve said absolutely nothing.
In my opinion, the strike action is nothing but eye service. It only happened after the union had been called out by Nigerians for being quiet for days after the kidnapping and beheading had happened. Like, how could something so terrible take place, and the union in charge of taking care of the interests of the teachers and students kept quiet? What kind of message was that sending?
Anyway, after much pressure, they finally decided to go on strike, but only in Oyo state. And I wonder why. Will this make any difference? Most strike actions in Nigeria only work because their effects are felt all over the nation. A strike in Oyo state will only be felt by the government of Oyo. If it must be felt, then taking it national would be an idea. Because if all the teachers in all the states in the country decide to go on strike, then it will be felt.
But then, will this strike change anything? We have a government that doesn’t really care about us, they keep quiet when terrible things happen, and they then punish those who dare to step away from the status quo. But at this point, it’s just a statement that’s needed. When you speak up against the injustice of it all, they track you down and arrest you. But then, those who are actually committing these atrocious acts are enjoying freedom. They do what they want with impunity, and absolutely nothing will happen to them. A reality that almost everyone has experienced.
Honestly, I don’t know. Anyway, I just know that we’d need to do better in the next elections, and we can only make a real difference by getting our PVSs and doing the right thing. Until then, everything we say is just tales by moonlight. We need to do better.
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