One of Oshodin’s Facebook friends, simply identified as Edward, revealed that Oshodin had lamented about how he could not pay for his daughter’s fee.
Carter Oshodin, a University of Benin (UNIBEN) employee, has committed suicide due to the hardship created by the industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) since February 2022.
The deceased, who worked as a data entry clerk in the institution, killed himself after incessant complaints of financial difficulties caused by the strike, Daily Trust reports.
For instance, One of Oshodin’s Facebook friends, simply identified as Edward, revealed that Oshodin had lamented about how he could not pay for his daughter’s fee.
He said, “He committed suicide on Friday and according to a post on his Facebook, he said he was facing financial difficulties and could pay the school fees of his two young daughters. It is a pathetic situation.”
Meanwhile, the Edo State Police Command Public Relations Officer who confirmed the incident said, the incident was not officially reported at the police station.
“Yes, the command happens to be aware of it by following up events and processes in the state; not that the family of the man who committed suicide reported it officially.
“The case remains unreported to date but we are aware of it because of our interest in following event in the state.”
The Nigerian government in August insisted that the striking university lecturers would not be paid their withheld five months salaries.
This was disclosed in a statement released by the Federal Ministry of Education, claiming that the “No-work-no-pay” principle adopted by the government is part of the Nigerian Labour Law and rooted in one of the core principles of the employment relationship.
ASUU embarked on strike on February 14, 2022, over the government’s failure to meet its demands including improved university funding.
But while the government has addressed some of ASUU's demands, the university lecturers’ union rejected some of the government’s offers describing them as “miserly.”