The classrooms across Nigeria’s public universities remain empty and quiet. For months, students have been stuck at home, their education frozen. The reason is the prolonged strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Today, a critical moment arrives as the deadline set by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to the government expires.

The NLC, the main body representing workers in Nigeria, had given the federal government a clear warning. They demanded that the government resolve the dispute with the university lecturers immediately. The failure to do so, the NLC stated, would lead to a massive, nationwide protest. The clock runs out on that threat today.

This move by the powerful labour union has shifted the battle from the lecture halls to the streets. It is no longer just a fight between lecturers and the government. It has become a broader struggle, with the nation’s entire workforce threatening to shut down activities to force a solution for the students.

At the heart of the problem are old agreements the government made with the lecturers but has failed to honor. These include issues of better funding for universities, improved salaries for staff, and updating old facilities. The lecturers say they cannot return to work until these promises are kept.

All eyes are now on the NLC headquarters. The union’s leaders are scheduled to meet today to decide the next step. Will they declare the big protest they promised? Or will the government make a last-minute move to stop the impending action? The decision they make will determine if the silence on campuses will be broken soon.

For millions of students and their parents, the wait is agonizing. The NLC’s meeting holds the key to their future. A decision to protest could pile more pressure on the government, but it also means more disruption for the country. The nation holds its breath, hoping for a decision that will finally send students back to school.