News Investigators/ Students of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest, demanding additional buses to ease transportation challenges on campus.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the placard-carrying students blocked the university’s main gate while singing solidarity songs.
Nasiru Olajide, Deputy Speaker of the Students’ Union, told NAN that the protest was aimed at drawing the attention of the university management to the transportation crisis confronting students.
Mr Olajide said that as responsible students, the demonstration was peaceful and focused solely on the transport challenges on campus.
He noted that the available buses were grossly inadequate for the over 40,000 students, as well as artisans, teaching and non-teaching staff, and other campus users.
“We appreciate the First Lady, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, for donating 50 buses and 30 tricycles to ease transportation on campus.
“However, these buses are insufficient for the student population, and most of the existing buses are in poor condition,” he said.
Mr Olajide added that students often spend long hours in queues waiting for buses, sometimes missing lectures as a result.
According to him, although the union had engaged the university management on the issue, it had yet to receive a positive response.
He further said that the shortage of campus buses had increased transportation costs for students living off-campus.
“We need more vehicles. We are calling on philanthropists, government officials and other stakeholders to support us with additional buses,” he said.
Mr Olajide also appealed to the university management to provide alternative accommodation for students in AWO Hostel, who had been asked to vacate the facility for renovation.
He stressed that the protest was peaceful, with no incidents of vandalism or destruction of property.
Efforts to obtain a response from the university’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Abiodun Olarewaju, were unsuccessful, as calls to his mobile phone did not connect.
NAN