Federal Govt’s ‘Inaction’ Threatens UI As Staff, Students Panic Over Flooded Zoo, Hostels

The staff and students of the University of Ibadan (UI) now live in fear as several parts of the 76-year-old premier institution have been submerged in floods following torrential rainfalls in Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

Some parts of the University, including student hostels and the popular Zoological Garden, were flooded, leading to substantial damage to property and the death of several animals in the facility.

Some rivers are said to drain into the University. A substantial part of the school was threatened last year, which prompted the university management to appeal for federal government’s intervention through the Ecological Fund Office.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Kayode Adebowale, had approached the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) where the Ecological Fund Office is domiciled, appealing for urgent government intervention earlier in the year.

The Vice Chancellor had in the appeal letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, explained that the university had attempted to contain the flood menace but explained that being a huge ecological problem, the estimated cost of civil works to contain the flooding was way beyond the capacity of the institution.

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According to Adebowale, the 2024 raining season had increased the threat level on the ecological challenges confronting the University of Ibadan.

Acknowledging receipt of the Vice Chancellor’s letter, SGF Akume in a response dated March 5, 2024, assured the Vice Chancellor that his request had been captured in the ‘Ecological Project Office Data Bank for further necessary action’.

The response, which was signed by the Director, Soil Erosion and Flood Control Department, Abubakar S. Takuma, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary in the office of the SGF, however, cautioned that the response should not be deemed an approval of any sort.

“Kindly note that this acknowledgement does not imply approval of the project and it is not a letter of contract award,” the SGF cautioned.

Eight months after assuring that the project had been “sent to the Ecological Project Office Data Bank for further processing,” no approval has been made, and that the flooding in the University of Ibadan has worsened.

“Now that we have a golden opportunity to salvage University of Ibadan, we are sitting on it. We only wake from slumber when a huge disaster happens. Maybe they are waiting for a repeat of the Maiduguri scenario in the University of Ibadan? God forbid!” a source stated.