ASUP Strike Takes Toll On Students, Businesses

The Academic Staff Union of
Polytechnics (ASUP) has  planned to embark on massive     protest to draw support for its strike action which has entered its nineth month.
In a statement issued by the union President, Comrade Chibuzor Assomugha said the planned protest is aimed at drawing the attention of the Federal Government to the lingering ASUP strike.
Asomugha said he would not announce the date of the protest now for security reason.
Meanwhile, the supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, has described as “mere propaganda’ the planned “massive protest’ by striking members of ASUP.
Wike said, using such action to draw the attention of the Federal Government would not resolve the impasse, stressing that over 90% of the-demands of the polytechnic lecturers, has been met, remaining the outstanding issue, of the salary arrears.
The Tide investigation; however, revealed that economic activities have been grounded in most Federal Polytechnics across the country as the indefinite strike continues.
The Tide observed that, most shops closed down due to lack of patronage. High Chief Lazarus Ekwueme, traditional head of Oko community in Anambra State where Federal Polytechnic Oko is situate told newsmen  that the strike had paralysed businesses in the community, forcing many traders out of business.
He noted that the students alone constituted about 90 per cent of business operators customers.
“Everybody is affected, from shop owners, petty traders, artisans, hawkers, transport workers, landlords, you name them.
“This has brought untold hardship to our people, whose businesses rely solely on the students.”
Another petty trader acknowledged the problem, saying more than 30 traders had closed down their shops.
He said if the strike is not immediately, called off, many traders in the community would be forced to  relocate to other areas.
The Tide was told by Chukwudi Emeka who provisions, drinks and snacks that his daily turn-over had dropped from N200,000 to N30,000 because of the strike action.
He said that due to low patronage he had to shut down his other shop located inside the school, stressing that “the students made up 90 per cent of his customer base.
“Sadly, since the commencement of the strike my sales have drastically dropped from N200,000 to barely N30,000 daily.
“This has forced me to layoff two sales girls that I employed to assist me because of the volume of customers at my shop.·
“I had to lay them off since I can no longer afford to pay them,” he explained.
He appealed to Federal Government and ASUP to resolve their differences so that students would return to school to save their business from total collapse.
Similarly, Amaechi Fidelis,  who owned a business centre, optimal computers, said he made up to Nl0,000 daily, but could barely make N800 since the commencement of the strike.
“I am into typing, binding, photocopy, passport photographs and the likes. My customers therefore are mainly students.
“When Students are around there is market, but when they are not around there is completely no market.
“I make up to Nl0,000 daily, but now I barely make up to N800 and I had to buy fuel and stationery. “Currently I barely make enough to feed my family”.
Nwosu Chinyere the owner of BM  Communications, who was dealing with airtime recharge cards and charging of cell-phone batteries, said the strike has affected him both as a businessman and as a student.
He said that he was selling the N400 and N200 airtime recharge cards, noting that because of the strike, not many people were even asking for the N 100 airtime.
Nwosu said that the battery recharging aspect of the business had completely gone.
I usually made up to N2,000 daily, charging phone batteries, but the strike has robbed me of that means.
“That part of the business is no longer fetching me anything,” he said.
Another trader, Chibuzor Oba, who was selling tomatoes and other vegetables said his daily turnover had dropped from N17,000 to N3,000.
“I sold out three to four basket of tomatoes daily when students are around, but now it takes me four to five days to finish just a basket, that is if I am lucky, and you know the perishable nature of vegetables.
“Beside vegetables, I also sale yam and potatoes, but I had to stop because there is no patronage,” he said.
Mrs. Stella Offer, a petty trader selling food stuffs, also said her daily turnover was N20,000 but had dropped to N4,000.
“This lingering strike by the academic staff of the polytechnic is worrisome, because whenever students are not in school there is no market and they have been away for nine months now.
“Sometimes I bought things to re-sale but they will be in the shop growing dust and we end up consuming them at home.
She said “The Federal Government should please do something to save our business from folding up completely”.

Philip Okparaji