By Victoria Ikwun, UNICROSS
FOR MANY students at the University of Cross River State (UNICROSS), the ongoing industrial strike has become more than a disruption to academic activities.
It has delayed graduation, stalled career plans, interrupted student leadership, strained finances and left many wondering when normal campus life will return.
Findings by JKNewsMedia.com Intern reveal that the impact of the prolonged shutdown extends far beyond the lecture halls.
Interviews with students and members of the university community indicate growing frustration as academic aspirations remain on hold and businesses that depend on students struggle to survive.
Among those bearing the weight of the strike is Micah Obri, a final-year student and Speaker of the Faculty Legislative Council in the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies (FCMS).
Obri said the delay in completing his programme has prevented him from taking full advantage of opportunities already opening up in the creative industry and political space.
“Opportunities are already coming to me in the creative and political world, but without my degree, I cannot maximize those opportunities the way I should,” he said.
He added that the strike has also frozen student leadership activities, making it impossible for him to fulfil the promises he made during his election campaign.
“I had a clear vision of what I wanted to achieve for students, but the strike has suspended both academic and student activities. It has handicapped not only me but many ambitious student leaders from fully serving those they represent,” he added.
Another final-year student, Joel Etah, said the prolonged industrial action has left him questioning his academic journey.
He explained that watching friends who enrolled in other universities graduate while he remains uncertain about his own future has been particularly painful.
“I was admitted the same year as a friend who studied at the University of Calabar, and he graduated six months ago. Meanwhile, I don’t even know when I’ll graduate. It makes me wonder if studying at UNICROSS has been worth it,” he said.
Joel said he had carefully mapped out his future around the university’s academic calendar, expecting to graduate and begin earning an income. Instead, those plans have been pushed back indefinitely.
JKNewsMedia.com Intern reports that the uncertainty, he admitted, has affected his mental health.
“I am depressed because everything I planned has been delayed,” he said.
For Esther Sunday, the strike has disrupted nearly every plan she made after graduation.
She said the delay has affected her hopes of beginning her career, applying for postgraduate studies and pursuing scholarship opportunities.
“The strike has affected my motivation to study because staying out of school for so long makes it difficult to remain focused,” she said.
Esther added that she had hoped to become financially independent soon after graduation, but those expectations have also been put on hold.
“Overall, it has slowed my progress and made it harder to achieve the goals I had set for myself,” she noted.
The effects of the strike have also extended to businesses that rely heavily on campus activities.
Godwin Samuel, a cybercafé operator, said his business has suffered a sharp decline because students, who make up the bulk of his customers, are no longer on campus.
He explained that only a handful of lecturers with pending assignments now visit his café.
“Almost all my income comes from students. Since the strike began, business has dropped drastically. The plans I had for myself this year have been interrupted because they require money to achieve, and the income is no longer coming,” he said.
The experiences shared by students and business owners reflect a university community caught in limbo. While students worry about delayed graduation, career opportunities and their emotional well-being, business owners continue to grapple with declining income as the campus remains largely inactive.
As the industrial action drags on, those affected are calling on the relevant authorities to urgently resolve the issues behind the strike and restore academic activities.
They also expressed hope for a swift resolution that will allow students to complete their studies, businesses to recover and the university community to resume pursuing its goals and aspirations.
In Strike Bulletin No. 1, dated May 19, 2026, and signed by the Branch Chairman, Dr. Patrick O. Ushie, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), UNICROSS Branch, directed all members to withdraw their services with immediate effect, insisting that the strike would continue until its demands are met.
According to the bulletin, the union declared a total and indefinite strike over what it described as the failure of the university’s Governing Council, management and the Federal Government to implement the 2025 FGN/ASUU renegotiated agreement.
The bulletin stated that ASUU is demanding implementation of the 2025 FGN/ASUU agreement, payment of salary arrears and academic allowances, improved funding for the university, prompt payment of monthly salaries, remittance of deducted welfare levies, check-off dues, cooperative deductions and National Housing Fund (NHF) contributions, as well as settlement of outstanding promotion arrears and earned academic allowances.
The union also called for strict adherence to the institution’s conditions of service governing administrative appointments.
It further directed that there should be no lectures, academic meetings or contact with students during the strike, although research and community service may continue.
Members were also urged to attend branch congress meetings, while the bulletin stated that only the Branch Chairperson should be regarded as the official source of information on the industrial action.
The indefinite strike has effectively brought academic activities at UNICROSS to a standstill, leaving thousands of students facing prolonged uncertainty over their studies, graduation and future plans, the Intern reports.
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