VeryDarkMan Stages Protest at Wike’s Gate, Teaches Kids Amid FCT Teachers’ Strike
By IDNN Metro Desk
Abuja, Nigeria — Social media activist and critic, Martins Vincent Otse, better known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), took his advocacy from the digital streets to the residence of FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, staging a symbolic protest against the protracted teachers’ strike that has left primary schools in the capital shut for over 90 days.
On Monday, VDM arrived at the gates of the Minister’s home accompanied by a group of uniformed schoolchildren. In a powerful demonstration, he conducted an open-air class session, teaching basic alphabets and linking them to biting political commentary.
“S for Suegbe, T for Tinubu, W for Wike,” VDM called out, with the children repeating after him — a moment that instantly went viral online.
The protest shines a spotlight on the failure of Area Council Chairmen to implement the ₦70,000 national minimum wage, which has kept FCT primary school teachers on an indefinite strike since March 24, 2025.
FCT Authorities Respond
Addressing the protesters, the Mandate Secretary of Area Councils Services Secretariat, Bitrus Garki, acknowledged the crisis, stating that although the issue lies primarily with the Area Councils, the FCT Administration had intervened repeatedly to seek resolution.
“The FCT administration has been intervening, but this is a multi-stakeholder issue,” Garki said. “The authorities will sit on this matter and ensure it is addressed, but I cannot give a specific timeline.”
He assured that traditional rulers and union leaders had been engaged in ongoing dialogue and that recommendations were currently being reviewed by the FCT administration.
VDM Issues Ultimatum
Unimpressed by the official response, VeryDarkMan issued a seven-day ultimatum, threatening a wider mobilisation of students and healthcare workers if concrete actions are not taken.
“We’ll return with more students if nothing is done in a week,” VDM declared. “Today is for education; tomorrow we protest for the primary healthcare workers who are also being denied minimum wage.”
“This is not an attack on Wike. We just want him to remember. Maybe he has forgotten—he’s preparing for 2027 elections and he’s stressed. But this? This we won’t forget,” he said.
