Popular activist and social critic, VeryDarkMan (VDM), stormed the office of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike for the second time, in a bold protest demanding the immediate payment of salaries owed to primary school teachers and the reopening of public schools in Abuja. The protest, charged with raw emotion and frustration, saw the activist joined by concerned parents and schoolchildren who expressed their pain over being out of school for over a year due to the government’s failure to pay teachers.
VDM, known for his fearless outspokenness, accused Wike of frustrating the future of poor children in the FCT while focusing on politics and public relations. He said the government’s refusal to settle teachers’ salaries has left thousands of children at home, stripped of their right to education. “You removed fuel subsidy and borrowed more money. You shared the money with governors. Teachers are not paid, children are at home, and now you are asking us where the money is? This is wickedness,” he said angrily.
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In a moment that moved many to tears, VDM handed the microphone to young children who shared their dreams. One boy named Friday said he wants to become a mechanical engineer. A young girl said her dream is to become a medical doctor, while another said he wants to be a banker. VDM pointed at them and shouted, “These are children with dreams, but you are killing their spirits by keeping them at home. Is it because their parents are not rich? Is it because they didn’t attend private schools like the children of politicians?”
He condemned the hypocrisy of using public schools as polling units and for party primaries during elections, yet locking those same schools to the poor after elections. “You remember the schools when it’s time to vote, but forget the children when it’s time to learn. That is wickedness. That is why we now call Wike ‘Wicked Wike,’” he said, adding that the FCT Minister has shifted from being called “Mr. Project” to “WW” — Wicked Wike.
VDM revealed that in some schools like the one in Duri, Abuja, only 10 teachers are managing over 1,000 students across various classes and subjects, and these teachers earn as little as ₦20,000 per month. “How can you pay a teacher ₦20,000 to teach 100 students and expect miracles?” he asked. He said the government has turned the “food basket of the nation into a basket of sorrow,” as insecurity and economic hardship have worsened.
The activist called on Wike and all Area Council Chairmen to pay the teachers and open the schools. He said children are now roaming the streets while the government continues to ignore their cries. “You cannot cut my voice. I am the voice of the voiceless, and I will continue to speak. These children deserve to be in school. If Wike’s dream had been cut short in primary school, would he be a minister today? Let him not destroy the dreams of others.”
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VDM ended by encouraging the children not to give up on their dreams, despite the hardship. “Even if you perspire, don’t retire — keep pushing for your future. And to Wike and those in power, if you’re using public money to torment the poor, torment will follow you,” he warned. The protest was a powerful reminder of the growing frustration among Nigerians over the state of public education, poverty, and bad governance.
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