NSUK ASUU Strike: “Students Should Not Continually Bear the Ultimate Cost” - NASLAWSAN PRO, Mamuda

The Public Relations Officer of the Nasarawa State Law Students Association of Nigeria, NASLAWSAN, National Body, Stanley Rishama Mamuda, has said that students of Nasarawa State University, Keffi, NSUK, should not continue to bear the cost of the ongoing ASUU strike.

In a statement made available to journalists on Tuesday, Mamuda, a final-year Law student of NSUK, said the strike may be linked to more than just outstanding arrears.

"The ongoing ASUU strike at Nasarawa State University, Keffi may have more to its timing than the outstanding arrears alone," he stated.

"With over ₦8 billion reportedly owed in various allowances and salary-related obligations, ASUU may understandably see the present administration as a more predictable interlocutor, particularly given Governor Abdullahi Sule’s history of engagement with the University’s financial challenges.

"My personal assessment is that there may be a strategic calculation to push for a settlement while this administration is still in office, rather than risk facing a new government whose disposition, priorities and capacity to address these liabilities remain uncertain."

Mamuda, however, noted that students remain the most affected party in the dispute.

"But in all of this, one group remains caught in the crossfire: the students.

"Their academic calendar is disrupted. Their graduation timelines are affected. Their educational progress is put on hold over a dispute in which they have neither bargaining power nor responsibility."

He acknowledged that the grievances of ASUU deserve serious attention and that government obligations to the university must be addressed. 

"The grievances of ASUU deserve serious attention. The financial obligations of government to its university must be addressed. But there must equally be an urgent recognition that students should not continually bear the ultimate cost of institutional and governmental failures."

Mamuda called for immediate dialogue to resolve the impasse.

"The question is no longer simply who is right or wrong. The question is: how quickly can all parties sit down, agree on a credible payment framework, and get NSUK students back into the classrooms?

"That is the conversation that must happen now, not after another semester is lost."