Varsity Students Boycott Lectures To Protest Transportation Challenges

Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife. Osun State, yesterday embarked on a 72-hour boycott of lectures to protest transportation challenges on the campus.

The university authorities had restricted public commercial buses from operating on the campus since the 50 buses and 30 tricycles donated by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, took charge of transportation on the campus.

Speaking with LEADERSHIP, the students’ union president, Comrade David Adelani, who confirmed the development, noted that the buses donated by the First Lady to shuttle students on campus were insufficient for the over 35,000 users.

While commending Mrs Tinubu for the gesture, Adelani said the students were not opposed to the shuttle system but insisted that the 50 buses and 30 tricycles were inadequate to serve the student population.

According to him, before the arrival of the donated vehicles, 200 buses and 465 motorcycles were registered with the management and operational, and he pleaded with the management to allow them to operate alongside the new buses for convenience’s sake.

Reacting to the students’ action, the university public relations officer (PRO), Mr Abiodun Olarewaju, charged them to be reasonable with the lecture boycott.

He appealed to the students to return to classes, adding that the management will look into their grievances because the university operates in a democratic set-up.

Defending the situation on the ground, Olarewaju said the students needed to be patient because no urban setup is immune to a ‘rushing hour’.

He added that as soon as rush hour was over, things would return to normal, noting that, as he spoke with LEADERSHIP, many buses were at the gate waiting for passengers.