The Obafemi Awolowo University Students Union called on students to converge and join the peaceful protest today.
The protest is to address the unpalatable tuition fee hike by the management. According to the Students Union president, all efforts to get the management to reduce the fee by 50% have been fruitless save for a meagre decrease in the fee.
The protest looked peaceful so far as many students turned up carrying placards with inscriptions like “When I dey pay 20k, I dey borrow money. Where you want make I see 90k?”, “You pay #90, you want make I pay 90k. You dey whine me? #FeesMustFall.” The students could be seen singing different Aluta songs at the campus gate.
The economic situation of the country is strangling everyone and students are not left out too. There have been a couple of meetings between the student body and the management before the decision to protest was made at a Congress in the SUB TV room yesterday. The students are not the only ones who responded positively to this peaceful demonstration as old women and men, probably parents, are also in attendance.
The Union requested two main things: a 50% reduction in the proposed fee and the activation of payments in instalments. The VC sent the ICT director to speak on instalment payments. According to the director, payment in instalments was not activated due to a shortage of staff but he promised it will be activated before the end of today.
Hopefully, this protest will twist a cord in the mind of the management and the fee will be slashed.
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