ASUU: Petty traders, commercial drivers lament strike
Some petty traders and commercial drivers in Enugu say the indefinite strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had adversely affected their businesses.
A cross section of the people who spoke in Enugu on Monday with our correspondent included food vendors, commercial cab and bus drivers, photographers as well as business centre operators.
A cab driver, Mr Felix Agu, who operates at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) said his business dropped drastically by almost 50 per cent since the beginning of the strike.
Agu, who is a retired civil servant, said he used to make nearly N15,000 a day when the students were in session, adding that he made less than N8,000 a day since the industrial action started.
“This is where I make my daily income since I retired from the civil service two years ago and since our pension comes once in a while.
“Before the strike, I was making between N10,000 and N15,000 daily but since ASUU started the strike I make less than N8,000 a day and spend a lot on fuel while looking for passengers,'' he said.
A food vendor, Mrs Beatrice Ejindu, said her business was about to collapse as a result of the strike, saying that only very few staff that operated skeletal services at the university patronised her.
It was a similar story for Joachim Uzo, a photographer and student as well as Miss Grace Eze who operates a business centre at Enugu Campus of the University of Nigeria (UNEC) as they complained of low patronage.
“I pay my school fees through this small business but since we resumed last September, I am finding it difficult to raise money to pay my school fees and that of my siblings,” he said.
Eze in her remarks, said she was planning to relocate to another place where people would make better use of her photocopier and computers.
They, however, appealed to ASUU and the federal government to urgently resolve the crisis and call off the strike in the interest of the students and the business community.