Popular social media activist Martins Otse, known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), on Monday, took to the streets of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) headquarters, where he staged an unusual protest by conducting a symbolic “open-air classroom” for public school children locked out of their schools due to an ongoing teachers’ strike.
The protest was to publicly shame the Nigerian government over its failure to resolve a strike that has kept FCT public primary schools shut for over three weeks. In a video posted to his social media handles, the activist turned the protest into a makeshift lesson, teaching the children an alphabet that reflected his frustration with political leaders. He taught the pupils about the alphabet, using President Bola Tinubu’s name and other issues such as corruption, embezzlement, and disappointment.
He said, “A for Asiwaju, B for Bola, C for corruption, D for disappointed, Tinubu has disappointed us. E for embezzlement; he has embezzled your school fees and the payment for your school teachers. That is why you are here, because your teachers are not available to teach you, as the government has not paid them. They have embezzled it.” With the pupils repeating after him, he continued, “F for fraudulence, G for gross ill, Tinubu’s ill, Wike ill, H for heartlessness; the governments are heartless, that is why you people are out of school for three weeks, and they do not care. They are heartless because their children are in private schools….”
In a post on his Facebook page attached to the video, VDM directly addressed the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, and President Tinubu, accusing them of negligence and betrayal of public trust. “For the past 9 weeks and counting, all the public primary schools in the federal capital territory, Abuja, have been on strike because of internal problems surrounding the payment of minimum wage,” he wrote.
He added, “For this reason, these public school kids have to suffer. They missed the last term’s examinations because the teachers would not work, and as a result, the schools were closed. The government promised to pay a minimum wage of 70,000 naira and above 70,000 naira based on their promotional levels. I decided to bring them out to the FCTA and use the entrance as their new school. Hopefully, the government will remember them. So, for now, this is our new school. I am sure the government officials will not care because their children do not attend public schools. Most of them do not even study in Nigeria. This is not what @officialasiwajubat promised the Nigerian people. To the Honourable Minister of the FCT, please open our public schools. I have heard you call them the leaders of tomorrow. How will they lead tomorrow without basic education?”
The protest comes amid a protracted strike by public primary school teachers in the Federal Capital Territory. The strike, which began in April 2025, is in response to the government’s alleged failure to pay the agreed minimum wage of N70,000 and to adjust salaries in line with teachers’ promotional levels. The deadlock has left thousands of schoolchildren idle and parents frustrated. Despite several appeals by education stakeholders, including the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), no resolution has been reached between the teachers and the FCT administration. Critics have accused the federal and FCT authorities of ignoring the plight of public school students while prioritising political and elite interests.
Many children of government officials are enrolled in expensive private or foreign schools, a reality that has fueled public outrage. VeryDarkMan’s protest has since gone viral, sparking renewed conversations about the state of public education, government accountability, and the widening inequality in Nigeria’s education system. As of the time of this report, neither the FCT Minister nor the Presidency has made any comment regarding the protest.
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