The state of the University of Ibadan following the decision of the school management for students to vacate the halls of residence is simply one that can be described as tense, chaotic, and problematic.
Students who have been in a state of confusion and anxiety following the management’s instruction are now almost in a state of full-blown panic as different halls of residence have begun to enforce the instruction for students’ vacation.
The university management, in a memo released on Saturday morning, August 31st, instructed that students vacate the halls of residence by 2 p.m that same day for a three-week break.
This came after students of the university on the previous day went on a protest against the governing council’s decision to uphold the school fee increment and give a 6-day deadline for payment.
The Ensuing Chaos
Most students, after seeing the memo, hoped that the management would modify its decision for students to vacate the hall and increase the timing, but unfortunately for them, that was not the case.
Students had to grapple with increasing transport fares, scarcity of vehicles, and even the problem of sourcing for transport fares to go home.
Victor, a Bellite, is dismayed by the decision of the management, and he believes that it does not care for the welfare of students.
“They do not care about the welfare of students. How do they expect students who do not stay in Ibadan or Oyo State to just go home suddenly without any further planning?” he asked.
Students of Ransome-Kuti Hall have the situation even worse. About some moments after the deadline for vacating the hall, the hall management shut the gates of the hall, effectively stopping those who either wanted to go out or go in from doing so. Students and even passersby who wanted to go outside the hall had to pay a fine, and students who wanted to go inside to pay for their belongings also had to pay fines.
Residents of Kuti Hall who were outside lamented bitterly about the decision of the management to take that line of action.
“It is not even that I do not have money to go home, but if I pay the fine, then the money remaining with me is not enough to take me home, and they expect us to go home,” said one of the Kutites speaking to the Press.
The issue on ground further escalates to the surcharge by transport workers, with some even charging over 300% more than the actual price. Some Keke drivers demanded N400 from students in Bello who were carrying bags and were headed to the school gate.
Unlike the Kutite, who to some extent had the plan and resources to go home, some are equipped with neither and yet have to find a place to lay their heads for the night.
Amaka is an Awoite, and like her other hallmates, she had to vacate her hall of residence due to the instruction by the hall management, but she is neither financially nor tactically ready to head to Lagos, which is where she stays.
Upon speaking to the press, she was stranded in Agbowo waiting, trying to call a friend whose line was not going through. With her backpack and another bag stranded on her arms, Amaka stands disheartened and disoriented, waiting for her friend to pick up her call.
“I don’t even know what I can do right now. I am trying to call my friend, but she is not picking up. I had to leave the hall because I couldn’t stay beyond today, and yet, I have no place to go now. They should have been considerate about people who come from far distances,” she said.
Many students like Amaka will find themselves in similar plights, but some might be lucky enough to find themselves friends who stay outside school who they can stay with for the meantime.
The protest groups have advised students who are stranded to go to the Student Union, but upon visiting the site about 4 p.m., only a handful of students were sitting there.
While management stated that the reason for the break was “to give students ample time to complete their online registration,” most students like Amaka and Victor believe that is simply a tactic to stop the students’ protest.
This instruction for the vacation of the halls of residence has put most students in a very difficult place.
