Striker Nation

For a student who has full control over whether or not he stays in school (there may be many reasons why such as extracurricular endeavours, friends and camaraderie etc) the strike produces a different type of psychological effect.
I was referencing some friends of mine in the aforementioned observation. When the strike action that took place early last year began, no one was taken by surprise because there was a well publicized buildup; in school, on the news, over the radio etc. Boys (A colloquial expression for the male gender and not expressly used in the context specified in the English dictionary) were already prepared and ready to take it in good faith.
There boys would stay in school all the way until it’s all over (End of strike declaration: 90 days). On a typical day during this period, boys could wake up in the morning and just start making small talk or jesting, joking or doing other related socialization activities. Afterward or just besides and if there’s light (Nigerian colloquial term for electric power supply) the playing of video games ensues amidst some form of breakfast and more chit chat. As the hours go by, the activities branch off into others like appointment meetups, familial obligations and generally to on and off campus activities.
Picture this progression from AM to PM repeating itself every day, week to week and month to month. It’s hard not to imagine a wastedness. A tendency for young people especially around these years, is to self destruct. Luckily school is dotted with religious and social interest groups that can keep a man busy (and we know what is said about the devil’s workshop) through some weekly activity. These groups go a long way in keeping one’s heart, mind or even soul in a state that it can endure, tolerate, abundantly hope and very importantly sanely rationalize.
For those who don’t endeavour, school may constitute the only remove from social vices and personal demons. In my case well, I got employed.
Conviction is only as deep as the beginning of a man’s dissatisfaction. In any national sovereignty it is imperative that reward based on merit be highly placed. I even think it is essential to the core of such a society. Strike actions have been embarked upon by university staff bodies in recent times and in the past to contest their rightly earned rewards. The last one was over issues like the implementation of past promises, policy reviews on issues like retirement age, raising the minimum wage etc. These are all ways by which some progress can be ensured in the educational sector - the civil servitude’s quota contribution to national development.
In closing, let me highlight that the strike actions embarked on are not easy for anyone to go through whether staff, unions, the entire nation, and not least of all – the students. It does appear that for us to move forward as a nation from our present state, sacrifices need to be made. In education, sacrifices like a full semester’s time schedule, an industrial training placement or a whole year’s course work are what have to be brought on the altar to appease the gods.