Academic activities were paralysed in public schools in Lagos state yesterday as the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) joined the world to protest the abduction of over 200 students of Government Girls Secondary School Chibok.
Addressing newsmen, the chairman of NUT, Mr. Adedoyin Adeshina, said over 173 teachers had so far lost their lives in the north eastern states since the Boko Haram insurgency began adding that the protest would have taken place since the kidnapping of the girls.
“The protest is not belated because the girls are still in the custody of Boko Haram and we need to consult before acting,” he said.
He said the May 27 should be a day for sober reflection for schools in Nigeria and Lagos state, adding that “there is nothing to celebrate.”
In a letter written to the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, the union said: “for God’s sake, why should people fight to halt our forward march to millennium development goal on education? The abduction of Chibok girls is nothing but a stumbling block to the realization of making education available to all by the year 2015.”
The association urged the federal government to take insurance cover for both students and teachers in the vulnerable political environment of the country besides demanding that both the federal and respective state governments exhibit true concern to the families of 173 teachers who lost their lives.
Also joining the protest, were junior students from schools in Agege and Yaba who were billed to begin their examination.
