Children in Bwari Appeal to Striking Teachers to End Prolonged Strike

Some schoolchildren in the Bwari Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have appealed to striking teachers across the six area councils to consider their plight and end their ongoing industrial action, which has kept them out of school for over two months.

The children conducted interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Bwari, Abuja, as they reflected on Children’s Day 2025.

NAN reports that members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in the FCT began a strike in March over the non-payment of the N70,000 minimum wage.

Blessing Adamu, a 10-year-old primary four pupil at LEA Primary School 2, Bwari, described the prolonged stay at home as a significant disruption to their education.

“I am not happy that I have been at home for this long,” she said. “My friends in private schools are going to school, but I stay at home helping my mother with her business and house chores.”

Another pupil, Jonah Mathias, said the situation had left him bored and longing for both the physical and intellectual engagement that school provides.

“I am missing both physical and intellectual exercises in school,” he said, urging the FCT administration and the NUT to resolve the impasse in the interest of their future.

Esther Bwaya, also affected by the strike, described the situation as “unfortunate and traumatising,” noting that it was disheartening to watch peers in private schools attend classes daily while they remained at home.

“We appeal to the government to treat this matter as a special Children’s Day gift to FCT children because we want to return to school,” she said.

A parent, Mrs Raabi Sumaila, a mother of five, echoed the children’s concerns and urged the FCT authorities to resolve the strike without further delay.

“This strike has brought untold hardship. Our children are still at home, and even our access to healthcare services at primary health centres has been cut off,” she lamented.

Mr Danladi Chiya, Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in the FCT, also appealed to the workers and union members to consider the children’s plight and end the industrial action.