By Gabriel Dike
Following the expiration of a 48-hour ultimatum issued by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, resumed their protest against recent fee hike by the university management.
The students bearing large banners defied the early morning downpour to stage the protest in the presence of armed policemen.
NANS and the Joint Campus Committee (JCC) Lagos, a day after their protest last week in which four union leaders were arrested, gave the UNILAG management 48 hours at a briefing to rescind the fee increment or face another round of protest.
The aggrieved students leaders, yesterday, kept to their threat as they staged a protest. One of the student leaders told the Daily Sun that their demands were two folds – reversal of the fee increment and reinstatement of the disbanded Students Union.
The Education Rights Campaign (ERC) in reaction to the resumed protest said whether the UNILAG management likes it or not, they would have to reverse the fee hike.
The National Coordinator of ERC, Hassan Taiwo said: “This is not a question of if but when. Every talk of palliative is a gimmick to hoodwink students to accept a policy that will send them on an academic journey of no return. And that is not all, they must also reinstate the students union. It is the prolonged absence of independent and democratic students unionism on the campus that has contributed to the current situation where authorities decide to impose a policy that can truncate students’ futures without the decency of consulting them.”
He deplored what he called the desperate manner the UNILAG vice chancellor has carried on despite rejection by students.
“It shows that the motivation for increasing the fees in the first place is not about meeting the funding shortfall of the university. Were this to be the true motivation behind the hike, then the authorities ought to have listened to students, who have canvassed alternative approaches to addressing the funding shortfall by way of asking the Federal Government to increase budgetary allocation to education. “We are aware that the NANS president and his team plans to meet the management tomorrow. Even though we hold strong reservations about how the NANS president and leadership failed to carry along the students and activists, who have been at the barricades for weeks now before accepting management invitation, we, however, urge the NANS president to use the opportunity of the meeting to stress the key demands of the students, which is reversal of fee hike, reinstatement of students unionism and proper funding of public education.”
A statement by the university management dated Wednesday, September 13, 2023, said it had continued to hold engagement with various stakeholders on the recent review of obligatory fees.
It also confirmed that it would meet with NANS president today and reassured the university community and public of the numerous measures taken to support students due to the review fees.
The statement urged its students and other members of the university community to remain calm and go about their legitimate activities peacefully.
Meanwhile, the police command in Lagos State, yesterday deplored its officers and men to maintain law and order as students express dissatisfaction with an increase in their school fees.
The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the policemen were deployed to prevent breakdown of law and order.
“The policemen were only posted to the campus to maintain peace and order. They are not meant to restrict movement in and out of the school. People are going in and coming out freely.”