Students of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, have lamented that bugs have infested beds and other furniture in their hostels. The students, who embarked on a protest on social media, complained that they could hardly sleep in the hostels. Some of the newly admitted students told our correspondent that they kept their luggage away from the residential halls to prevent them from being infested by bedbugs. A number of the old students said they passed the night on corridors, and the football pitch in the institution.
The Welfare Officer, Ajiboye Adekanmi, noted that the university’s acting Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Grace Akinola, was aware of the development. Adekanmi said several meetings held with the DSA to lodge complaints on the poor state of students’ welfare did not yield positive results.
He said,
“We have been making efforts about the bedbug invasion but all our suggestions have yet to be implemented. The DSA asked old students to vacate the hostels without bothering about how they will complete their projects and teaching practice.
“When we met, she demonstrated the willingness to fumigate and resolve the challenges but the school kept complaining that there was no money. We don’t believe that because millions of naira was recently budgeted to purchase vehicles for the pro-chancellor and other principal officers.”
This is as the students also expressed displeasure over the death of some of their colleagues over alleged absence of speed breakers on some strategic roads on the university campus.
It was gathered that a student of the university studying Sociology and Anthropology, Jeremiah Ashiru, died last Tuesday night on Road One of the university. Lamenting the death, one of his colleagues wrote on social media,
“I am writing this piece with great pain in my heart. The sad event that happened on the night of Tuesday (May 2) claimed the life of a young, promising colleague at OAU. “It is high time we stood up to let the university management know that we are not happy that accidents have become a recurrent thing on our campus, especially on that road. These accidents have taken lives of intelligent, promising and bright students. The latest being Jeremiah.
“Speed breakers should be constructed on Road One and other roads, especially at the bend close to the dam when coming from Gate and after the local government council area. It is time for all drivers to change their orientation of speeding on university roads.”
Another student, Samuel David, accused the executives of the Students’ Union of not being proactive over the death of students.
He said;
“It is no gainsaying that OAU has beautiful roads, but what’s most important is the safety and security of users, not just aesthetics. The OAU road design imitates foreign styles which do not take into consideration the maintenance of facilities necessary to check accidents.”
When contacted on the telephone, the OAU DSA said she was at an orientation programme and asked our correspondent to call back. But she had not responded to calls subsequently put to her phone as of 7pm production time on Monday.
