Globally, the role of an academic is tripartite and includes service, research, and teaching with service being the most demanding [Medina, Melchert and Stowe et al. 2020]. It appears as though the majority of Nigerians are not conversant with the tripartite duties of an academic and as such when they withhold teaching during strikes the government often withhold their salaries. In Nigeria, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is synonymous with seeking the country’s and its member’s socio-political interests and economic welfare [Okeke, Anierobi & Ezennaka 2021]. Being a trade union it is saddled with the responsibility of catering for the well-being and protection of its members from victimization, as well as negotiating conditions and terms of service and developing a working relationship with the government [Okeke, Anierobi & Ezennaka 2021; Pitan & Akindele 2016].
The funding of public universities in Nigeria is grossly inadequate [Alabi 2019] and miles away from the benchmark recommendation of 26% for education in developing countries by the United Nations Education, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). To express displeasure of poor funding for education and insincerity by the government in keeping agreements, ASUU has also been synonymous with instituting strike actions. For example, the ASUU strike of 2022 erupted because the government failed to implement the agreement reached with the union a decade ago.
As depicted by the National Association of Universities Teachers (NAUT) [1978] strikes of the university union had also been caused by the delay in the payment of the elongated salary structure, poor conditions of service and remunerative structure, under-funding of universities, erosion of academic freedom and university autonomy, and poor physical conditions of work. Strikes are also undertaken by labor unions as the last option during conciliation when agreements reached during collective bargaining fail and usually arose just or before agreements expire [Ojeifo 2014]. During strikes, the government withholds the worker's salaries on grounds of lack of work done to weaken the sustenance of the strike. However, the questions that have often been unanswered are, are classroom duties (teaching) the only role of academics and if it is not, why are the strikers not been paid if teaching is only a part of their tripartite role as depicted by Medina, Melchert, and Stowe [2020]. Living without salaries may be associated with many negative effects such as; an increased rate of death and sickness, children dropping out of school, inability to maintain poor health conditions, brain drain, and inability to feed or pay rent. When strikes persist, students are deprived of learned courses by their teacher and are expected to stay at home for a long time. This causes worry among parents and guardians who incur extra expenses for sponsoring their idling children. There is also an increased burden of sponsorship by the parent from the time of admission to graduation (Ntiasagwe, 2020), and to retain the campus accommodation of their children the parents continue to pay the fees even during the period of the strike. This may result in the parent being uncertain about the future of their children’s education and may prefer that they study abroad or in a private institution even though the financial requirements are higher (Ajayi, 2014; Alabi 2019). It is no doubt that in times like this, there may be serious physical and psychological distress on the lecturers, their students, parents/guardians, and those whose means of livelihood depend on public university
Anxiety, depression, and stress [Adedapo et al. 2022] are regarded as outstanding common mental disorders (CMD). These and other CMD such as somatic symptoms, backache, and headache [Giang et al. 2010, Rocha et al 2010; Gelder et al 1998] are regarded as major causes of disability worldwide [WHO 20018]. Individuals with psychological distress [anxiety and depression] are phase with a higher risk of substance abuse, morbidity, and mortality especially death by committing suicide [Kerebih, Ajarb, and Hailesilassie 2017].
The prevalence of psychological distress among Nigerian university students during health distress was reported as 25% out of 10, 421 students [Esan et al. 2019], in brazil it was recorded as 33.7% [Edméa et al. 2014], ranges between 14.5- 15.04% in India [Kiran et 2015; Chateterjeec et al. 2012], and in Ethiopia ranges from 21.6% -40.5% [Dachew, Azale, and Berhe 2015; Dessie, Ebrahim, Awoke 2013]
Factors that contribute to psychological distress among students during health distress include but are not exclusive to, a sudden change of living condition, constant pressure to succeed, financial burden, parental, peer, or teacher pressure, and concern about the future [Sreeramareddy et al 2007; Vaez, Ponce de Leon and Laflamme 2006]. Other factors found among medical students are insufficient training resources, classroom overcrowding [Omigbodun et al 2006], and poor mental health [Makanjuola, Abiodun, and Sajo 2014]. These factors can lead to negative aftermath if they are left unchecked. For example, academic performance drops [Falade et al. 2020], abuse of hard substances and alcohol heightens [MadanjuolaAbuiodun and Sajo 2014], drop out of study [Clark et al. 1988] and susceptibility to clinical error after graduation [West et al. 2009].
In the recent past COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increased rate of anxiety, fear, poor sleep, depression [Liu et al. 2021; Wu et al 2021], and suicide in the general population [Bhuiyan et al 2020; Dsouza et al. 2020 17, 18]. Resulting in anxiety and depression increasing to as high as 81.7% and 82.4%, among students respectively, [Islam et al. 2020 28] as against (48.4%) of anxiety, (35.2%) stress, and (55.3%) of depression among health workers [Rahman et al. 2021 20].
Working incessantly online in a hostile condition was depicted as the main cause of psychological distress among teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown [Ela et al. 2021; Hossain et al. 2022]. In India the increased household roles, workload, and stress and the introduction of online learning among females teachers lead to psychological distress eventually leading to irritating and aggressive behaviors [Dogra & Kaushal 2021) while in China it leads to increase anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder [Fan et al. 2021; Li et al. 2020]. Similarly, in England, the psychological states of teachers were negatively associated with increased concerns over the safety of students and colleagues, uncertainty, negative news health vulnerabilities, and workload [Kim & Asbury 2020; Kim, Oxley &Asbury 2021]. In a Poland study psychological distress among teachers was correlated with the number of children, changes in satisfaction and quality of relationship, and partner employment status [Jakubowski &Sitko-Dominik 2021 39] while, among North and South American female elderly teachers it was correlated with loss of loved ones, unpaid work overload, fear of the pandemic, sense of uncertainty, and home confinement-induced loneliness [Lizana et al. 2021; Baker et al. 2020]. There is a lack of reports on the impact of university strikes on the psychological health of parents/guardians, students, and lecturers in Nigeria.
Mizrahi et al. 2022 observed that anxiety and depression pose a negative effect on the level of physical activity. Exercise and physical activity (PA) are critical instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) that are recommended for the prevention of chronic lifestyle diseases (diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases) currently regarded as a pandemic universally [Ewah et al. 2022 Fletcher et al. 1996; National Institution of Health 1998]. The health-enhancing benefits of frequent participation in exercise are enormous and are not exclusive to mood elevation/emotional stability, reducing the risk of heart attack, hypertension, and diabetes [Ewah and Oyeyem 2022; Cha H-G, Tae-Hoon, Myoung-Kwon 2016]. While Inactive living is a global concern because it results in morbidity and mortality and make people susceptible to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) due to its destructive effect on the major system in the body (cardiovascular and musculoskeletal) [Vallance et al. 2018; WHO 2018; Forouzanfar et al. 2016; Knuth et al. 2010; Warren et al. 2010].
Many individuals find it hard to adhere to living a lifestyle of regular PA, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown [Ewah et al. 2022]. There is a shortfall of PA in the general population especially of those living in urban areas (Guthold et al. 2018). To be regarded as physically active an individual is expected to participate in vigorous PA not less than 15 minutes or moderate PA 30 minutes daily 5 days/week [U.S. Department of Health and Human Service 2018]. Many individuals were unable to meet the expectation for PA, especially during the health distress of the recent past COVID pandemic lockdown [Ewah et al. 2022]. A report on how the university academic strikes will impact the PA of the students, lecturers, and parents/guardians is unexplored. We hypothesize that due to the socio-economic challenge that is associated with strikes there may be increased physical inactivity and psychological distress, and probing to explore its impact may proffer step-by-step intervention to alleviate it.
Therefore, this study will explore the factors that predict anxiety and depression among students, lecturers, and parents/guardians during strike in Nigeria. We will also assess the relationship between PA and psychological distress among students, lecturers, and parents/guardians. Compare these variables across the groups, assess the rate of death, and gather possible responses on measures to curb such strikes in the nearest future.