Popular Nigerian activist Martins Vincent Otse, widely known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has been seen in a viral video expressing disappointment after a student failed to complete a sentence when asked about his future aspirations.
The incident occurred during a protest held in Abuja on Monday, June 23, 2025, where VDM and a group of school children demonstrated against the prolonged teachers’ strike affecting primary and secondary education in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The protest followed recent comments by Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, who announced plans to withhold 10 percent of the FCT’s internally generated revenue (IGR) due to the failure of area councils to implement the new minimum wage for primary school teachers. The strike, which has lasted over nine weeks, has kept many students out of school, prompting VDM to take action.
Dressed in a school uniform alongside the children, VDM led the demonstration at the entrance of Wike’s office, also calling on President Bola Tinubu to intervene and resolve the crisis so that learning can resume.
In a newly surfaced clip from the protest, posted online on June 25, VDM is seen engaging one of the students by asking him what he wants to become in the future. The student, however, struggled to form a coherent sentence, leaving the activist visibly disappointed and highlighting the impact of prolonged disruptions in the education system.
VDM, who was clearly not happy, tagged the student as “Olodo” and told him to go back, and he called on another student who could display his/her academic buoyancy.
Watch the video below (swipe the slides to view more);