By Joy Yesufu
Social media influencer and activist, Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), on Monday staged a dramatic protest at the official residence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The protest was over the ongoing teachers’ strike that has kept pupils out of school for more than 90 days.
The protest was aimed at drawing attention to more than 90-day ongoing strike by primary school teachers under the FCT council which began March 24, 2025.
In a symbolic move, VDM gathered a group of uniformed children and conducted an open-air class at the minister’s gate, teaching them basic alphabets in a satirical tone.
“S for Suegbe, T for Tinubu, W for Wike,” he chanted, as the children echoed back the letters.
The protest highlights growing frustration over the strike by primary school teachers in the FCT.
The teachers are demanding the implementation of the new national minimum wage of N70,000, which Area Council Chairmen have failed to adopt.
Speaking to protesters, Bitrus Garki, Mandate Secretary of the FCT Area Councils Services Secretariat, acknowledged the situation and blamed the delay on administrative complexities.
“This is largely the responsibility of the Area Councils. However, the FCT Administration has intervened in several ways not just on this matter, but also on infrastructure and other governance issues,” Garki said.
He assured the protesters that their concerns had been received and that discussions involving stakeholders including the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)—were ongoing.
“I cannot say exactly when it will be resolved, but I can guarantee that the matter is being treated with urgency. Even traditional rulers under my office have weighed in to seek a solution,” he added.
In his response, VDM gave the government a seven-day ultimatum to resolve the impasse, warning that further protests would escalate if the issue remained unresolved.
“We’ve decided to give them one week. If nothing happens, we’ll mobilise even more pupils from across the FCT,” he said.
VDM also announced that Tuesday’s protest would shift focus to the primary healthcare sector, where workers are similarly affected by non-payment of the new minimum wage.
“Today is for the students. Tomorrow, we’ll be here again for primary healthcare workers. We are not fighting Wike; we just want him to see this and remember. Maybe he’s distracted—planning for 2027 and all.” he said
