Vehicular Traffic Paralyzed for Hours As OAU Students Protest Outrageous Rise in Tuition Fees Vehicular activities were paralyzed for hours on Tuesday afternoon on the ever busy Ilesha-Akure highway. Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, in Osun State, took to the streets to protest against what they called the ‘outrageous incremental rise’ in their tuition fees. According to Sahara reporters, students numbering in the thousands chanted solidarity songs, as they blocked the highways, and local streets, to prevent a free flow of traffic, and easy passage of commuters on the road. Several travelers plying the road were stranded for several hours, pleading with the students, and their leaders, to open the road for a free flow of traffic. Sources told SaharaReporters that the students were led by the newly elected Students Union Government (SUG) president, Mr. Comrade Ibikunle Isaac. Many of the students were armed with leaflets, and placards, bearing several inscriptions with a message to drive home their point. Some of the signs read as follows: “MY FATHER IS AN OKADA MAN NO MONEY; FG FUNDED EDUCATION WITH 26% ALLOCATIONS!; While another read, OAU STUDENTS SAY NO TO TUITION INCREMENT. Other signs were more pointed, such as: OMOLE, BRING DOWN OUR SCHOOL FEE;” “OMOLE, YOU ENJOYED FREE EDUCATION WHY (are you) KILLING IT? But the main messages shared by most taking part in the protests hit the point home, with: “THE POOR DESERVES QUALITY EDUCATION TOO THERE IS GOD O” among others. Many Post-Graduate students who were scheduled to have lectures at around 10:00 am, were barred from entering the institution by the protesting students. The Post Graduate Degree students were later lured-in to join the protesters as most were convinced to fight for the same cause. At the early hour of 7:30 am, the students trooped out from their various departments, faculties, and destinations, and converged at a car park inside the school. It was there that they discussed the rational of their protest and movement. The Car park venue was also used to distribute placards before they moved-on and outside of the Campus. Many had later stayed-put at the front of a private university the Oduduwa University, with the intent to close down the campus, which also runs along the Akure/Ilesha-Ibadan-Lagos road. Security personnel manning the Oduduwa university grounds had ensured the school officials that the protesting students would not barricade the front gate of their institution. They delivered repeated warning to section-off the students for their gathering, and not engage in the disrupting of their own peace. Handbills were distributed by the students to many stranded travelers, with a well coordinated write up on their plight over the tuition hike, and their agitation and frustration. The Students allege that the management of the institution had indiscriminately hiked their tuition fee from N17, 000.00 (Seventeen Thousand Naira) to over N100, 000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira). Addressing his school colleagues, the Student Union Government (SUG) president, Comrade Ibikunle Isaac, said the other student leaders had met several times with the management of the school over the issue. Ibikunle has a lot at stake in this struggle, he is a rising Law Student graduate with a level 500 rating. Isaac added that after several meeting with the Students Union leaders, and school representatives, the management stood strongly behind their call for the tuition hikes, which he said the students would not accept. Ibikunle said the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole, had promised to reverse the increase in tuition fees at the meeting, which was held at the school Senate Building. We have exhausted all peaceful means, and even met with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union University (ASUU), Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) as well the alumni body of the institution, to help us appeal to the management.
Posted on: Wed, 21 May 2014 01:14:42 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015