Lessons ASUU Strike Taught Us As Lecturers by Abu Yakubu Abbani
POLITICS DIGEST- ASUU members have learnt vital lessons they were never taught in school despite their educational qualifications during the just-concluded 8 months strike without salaries. I doubt if they would have been able to teach their students these life lessons too. “Experiences,” they say, “is the best teacher and it is in difficult times that one knows true friends and brothers/sisters.
We have seen the true colours of people who claimed to be our family and friends (F&F). We can now easily separate and classify them into the truthful and pretentious ones and the ones.
We have known our siblings, cousins, uncles and aunts who were always there for us even when we didn’t ask for assistance. We have also seen those who waited until we asked them (some gave happily when asked, some gave with anger and some gave excuses). Now we know how our families would be treated by our relatives when we die. We now know those who are only related by blood but not by brotherhood.
We know our true friends who didn’t wait to be asked or begged to assist and those who obliged with no hesitation. Those are the friends indeed! We also saw those who never offered us even a kobo to us simply because we didn’t ask and those who gave excuses when we asked to be assisted.
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We also know those F&F who wished to help but didn’t have the means but were always concerned about us.
We have also understood wives who are truly for better and for worst. These spouses never for once questioned us as to why we had to do what we did. They stood by us with or without salaries and showed support that gave us strength. We have also understood our wives (and girlfriends ????????) who could not bear it: they nagged and nagged and some even left us.
We have also known those landlords and school proprietors who showed total understanding and sympathy to us by not bothering us to pay our rents and children’s school fees. Rents were due between 1-8 months at least and children’s fees were not paid for second and third terms of last session and this current first term. Despite our inability to fulfill these obligations, we were not given quit notice by our landlords or our children were not sent out of schools by the authorities. We also know those who did otherwise!
We have known those who didn’t fully understand what we fought for but supported; those who understood but disagreed with our method yet they supported when we needed them.
We have truly learnt more lessons of life. We should hold no grudges against F&F who didn’t even care. Henceforth, we should know where to place everyone.
Personally, I have experienced the good, bad and ugly as well as some of the things mentioned above. I am a very good student.
Unto the next chapter we turn! We’ll keep learning.
Abu Yakubu Abbani
