Effects of ASUU Strike on Students’ Mind

By Dhikrullah ‘Afrau Olatunmibi

Records have it that the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has used a total of 1,411 days to go on strike since the inception of democratic dispensation in 1999.

The body went on strike for 275 days in 2020, making it the longest.

Meanwhile, the ongoing ASUU strike is 127 days old today Tuesday 21st June, 2022. This is not without its attendant effects on students psychology.

The following are some of the effects of ASUU strike on students’ mind:

Disruption of plans: Majority of the students before graduating from senior secondary schools set plans for themselves on how they want to go about their lives.

Some of these plans could be the number of years to be spent in tertiary institutions depending on your course of study, after then the National youth service, masters and the likes.

Due to ASUU strike, a lot of plans have been disrupted. There comes in another plan for the strike period.

You may consider learning an handiwork but you might not eventually be done with such before ASUU calls off strike.

This to a great extent makes one not to be focused and also disrupt one’s plan.

Time wastage: Due to ASUU strike, a lot of students waste their time at home making them feel too relaxed, sleeping, chatting and engaging in non-beneficial things.

Some goes to the extent of messing up around the streets, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and the likes, engaging in yahoo and prostitution.

This to a great extent kills the zeal to achieve better things in students and make them less productive, and as the same time lead to the increase in thugs and violence activities in the society.

Depression: This sets in during ASUU strike when we see our students colleagues in other institutions that aren’t under ASUU progressing in their life careers, while we are at home waiting for ASUU to call off strike.

Thereby increasing the number of years to be spent in school. This brings about frustration and has psychological effects on students including depression.

Some students can go to the extent of committing suicide when they feel like things are not moving forward and going as planned in their lives.

Losing interest in schooling: Students who are ambitious gives all it takes to achieve what they intend to be in life irrespective of the challenges they will encounter while pursuing their dreams.

But, when a five-year course is becoming an eight-year course, the zeal one has initially can start to reduce bringing about different thoughts in one’s mind, such as while am I schooling, is it compulsory, my colleagues who didn’t go to school are also making it.

Then, you start to loose interest in what you’re studying and school becomes boring and of no choice to you anymore.

Seizing of opportunities: Some students also use this opportunity to learn some skills and develop themselves.

Some bring up business ideas and they start selling both online and offline, some start to monetise the knowledge they have in form of services to be rendered to people, some enrolled themselves in madrasah or learn handiwork and so many other things.

This to some extent helps in building individual and gaining more experience.

MY ADVICE

To students: We should all try to maximize our time, be more productive and not to see this period as a waste but rather as an opportunity to learn and relearn.

You can also take some free short online courses relating to your course of study or not, so as to add more values to yourself.

To ASUU: Let’s be considerate. Some have children among us, and let’s hope for the betterment of this country.

To Federal Government: Give us our rights, give ASUU their rights also. If you want a change and a great nation, invest on the students, invest on the youth for they are the future of tomorrow.

In conclusion; we are the future of tomorrow. Whatever we are today reflect in the future. Let us all have positive mindset for this great nation of ours.

Dhikrullah ‘Afrau Olatunmibi is a 200 Level student of the University of Ibadan, Oyo state.