Business activities have resumed in university campuses across the Federation, following the suspension of the industrial action on October 14, 2022.
The strike was embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Nigeria Universities, (ASUU) on February 14, 2022.
The intra-campus buses/tricycles that were off the road have resumed operations while Point Of Sale operators (POS) and CyberCafe/Business Centres are returning to their business outlets.
The strike which came as a one-month warning strike later escalated to 8-months due to the inability of the Federal Government to meet up with the demand of ASUU, putting many businesses on hold and making people desert some of the University’s campus, which invariably crippled business activities.
According to findings, the worst affected business appears to be cybercafé and food vendors where students access most online and offline services while in school.
A business Owner at the University Of Jos, Plateau State and the Chief Executive Officer of Bright Enterprises, Agada Bright, lamented that business was at the ebb during the strike.
“The strike really did affect our businesses here on campus because 90 percent of our customers are students and when the strike started, the traffic reduced a lot”
According to him, business have resumed in earnest since ASUU called off the strike, ”We have already started work because some students are back and have started registration”.
On his part, another business owner in Alex Ekwueme University Ebonyi state and CEO Foski ICT Hub, Alex Odogwu noted that the strike affected his business drastically.
“Yes, it did. My business is situated in a school environment which means 95 percent of my customers are students.
And as of late March 2022, there was not much work. Just a handful that can buy you one or two meals, But everywhere dried up when NASU started its strike. The few shops that were still open began to close down”.
He decried that though he is currently acquiring more skills, he will certainly resume serving his customers.
“I made out plans, currently acquiring more skills, besides it’s just one part of my business that might be functional right now”
“Definitely, I will resume business to keep my customers, because when they don’t see you for long, they’d migrate to another person who may win them over forever” he added.
Two business owners at the University of Lagos, Aliyu Ayo and SodSadikmidele were happy over the resumption noting that they are happy to beef up business activities in the school.
Meanwhile, business activities have increased at motor parks where various transportation companies are hit by the strike, and food markets across different cities are now gathering serious momentum as students travel back to their different campuses across Nigeria.
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