What to Do When ASUU Strikes

Some circumstances are definitely beyond our control. For the average Nigerian student, the wide lot that must go through subsidized federal and state universities and polytechnics, strikes by academic and non-academic staff unions are almost inevitable. But what do you do when ASUU strikes? A broad majority of Nigerian students are entitled to free food, rent, pocket money and even more important, time. It is true that paid jobs are not easy to come by, but ‘free’ time alone invested in volunteering for ‘free’ jobs, not only would create an opportunity to learn from a hands-on experience, it would become an added asset on a résumé. Looking back now, I regret the times I wasted sleeping away during the day and whiling away in front of the TV, doing what I best describe as a practically wasteful indulgence. Enlightenment is key. Inculcating the fact that building a résumé is not something that has to start after earning a degree would create a sense of responsibility in managing and investing one’s time especially when one not only has time but food and shelter for free. Another point to note is that in order to put food on one’s table, learning a trade or skill is inevitable and this does not have to be corporate. Inasmuch as studying to earn a degree in an academic setting is aimed at preparing one for the corporate world, the truth remains that the corporate world may not be able to meet the needs of all who climb this ladder. Many graduates have left school only to start up a business in something different from what they had studied, and these do not require a four-to-six year degree programme for one to learn. Strikes by tertiary institutions surely are a distasteful thing and give us good reason to complain. But instead of whining, relaxing and waiting for ASUU to open her doors, learn a skill. Fashion is trending and people would always want to make clothes –learn to sew. Ladies would put on new hairstyles –learn to make hair. There will always be birthdays and wedding parties –learn to bake. Websites and blogs are sourcing for content –write, and even if you don’t receive pay, use it as a platform to develop your talent. Offer to assist in a laboratory and keep it professional, you never may know what referral that might earn you, if computers were your thing, learn a new coding language, something not yet on your school’s curriculum. Learn to profit from whatever it is that interests you. If you were to be stripped of your university degree, would you still be relevant? ASUU strikes are one of the ways Nigeria throws this important question on her youths.

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This article was first published on 15th August 2017

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