…Stages alphabet class with protesting schoolchildren
…Says Wike’s gate now symbolises ‘Nigeria’s failed education’
Controversial social media activist, Mr Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, on Monday led a provocative protest to the residence of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, over the prolonged strike by primary school teachers in the territory.
Teachers under the FCT chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) have been on strike since March 24, 2025, after Area Council Chairmen failed to implement the new N70,000 national minimum wage.
The strike has kept thousands of pupils at home for over three months, grounding public basic education in the capital.
VeryDarkMan arrived at Wike’s residence with a group of uniformed schoolchildren, staging what he called a “mobile classroom.” In front of the Minister’s gate, he began teaching the alphabet in a satirical manner.
“S for Suegbe, T for Tinubu, W for Wike,” he chanted, with the children responding after him, drawing the attention of passersby and security personnel.
While refusing to speak directly with reporters, the influencer told bystanders that “Wike’s gate will now be the new classroom for abandoned FCT pupils.”
As the children settled for a break, food trays bearing rice and chicken were handed out to them by VeryDarkMan and his team.
The protest, though peaceful, attracted heavy security presence around Wike’s private residence in Abuja.
At press time, neither the Minister nor any Area Council Chairman had issued a formal response.
The standoff between the NUT and the Area Councils in the FCT has worsened due to what labour leaders describe as a deliberate disregard for federal directives.
Despite the new minimum wage being approved and circularised by the federal government, the Area Councils reportedly claim lack of sufficient funding.
