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By Emmanuel Olabode

Acceptance fee was increased from #2,000 to #20,000 when I gained admission into OAU in part 1
The students protested. In return, the then VC, Prof. Faborode sent us all home. We spent over 3 months at home doing nothing wasting away while the school was locked. When we returned, the students’ union had been proscribed. Upon returning to school, we never heard anything ever again about the protest, not from the union leaders. Activities returned to normal as if nothing had happened. In the absence of the student union, there was no major disruption of school activities. We enjoyed ‘peace’ and ‘progress’ for almost 3 years. During these years, different unions – lecturers, non-academic staff, (national and OAU) chapters embarked on multiple strike actions.

 Till now, we are yet to see a concrete product of these industrial actions. The most recent of these was the over 6-month strike embarked on  by ASUU. It was the most miserable period for most Nigerian students. They gave reasons for their actions but we all know they are full of lies. They want their share of the national cake. How come lecturers who fail to attend class until a week before exam want to be paid more. How come lecturers who are old enough to retire still teach us. How come lecturers who give us google copied handouts want a better working condition?

They said they were fighting for us. They lied. They wasted our time. During the strike, where was NANS. Where were the students union bodies of the various institutions in the country. Our students union representatives from different schools failed to bring us together to fight the common enemy.Note that most of these students union leaders have been bought by different politicians. These students union leaders prefer to dance to the tune of the rich and mighty than to fight for our rights. I make bold to say that student union leaders from all universities have been compromised.

During the strike, I had a meeting with Yemi of Enough is Enough Nigeria. We were to discuss a way forward. How to mobilize the Nigerian students. But I was ashamed when she asked me how much I paid for school fees in OAU and I told her less than N7,000. Akin Oyebode was deeply embarrassed when I mentioned that I paid N3,050 for accommodation. ‘How much more are you willing to pay for quality education?’ They asked me. I explained that my(our) parents would be in the best position to answer that since they paid the fees.

They already made their point – ‘Quality education is not cheap’. You have to part with something, regardless of your background. When OAU resumed it’s second semester in January, we hoped we would have a smooth calender this year. Alas NUGA came, we went on 2 weeks break. School activities went on properly till we wrote exams around April/May. Things were fine (I suppose) until news about the students union reinstatement came in. We all witnessed the drama that came with the campaigns, manifestos and elections itself. We started hearing reports of school fees increment. Normal OAU (awo boys) students were ready for combat.

The yet-to-be sworn in students union leaders started protests and congresses. Their resolution. Say total no to fee increment. Students sell bed space in male hostels for about 15 – 20k. Some female students purchase bed spaces from other students for about 70-80k. A bed space in maintenance costs about 70-90k. Some even pay over 100k. Students who reside in town pay over 90k, some 150k to rent houses in town. Note, they hardly have light. An average OAU student uses a blackberry phone worth around N20,000. Some students hardly collect the exact school fees from their parents. They add extra. Some students charge their parents between 40k – 70k for school fees when the school fees was less than 15k

Based on the above, do you think an average OAU student can afford to pay about 30k as school fees? Remember, the last time there was increase in school fees was about 20 years ago. Note; things have changed. I am certain that not about two-thrid of OAU students participated in the protest against the fee-hike. Those who didn’t join the protest were more than those who participated but now they are complaining. During the protests, we held the masses – bus drivers, janitors, non-academic staff to ransom

Remember, we are fighting for the masses. OAU is for the poor. Was the protest justified? Who were we fighting against? If our fight is for the less privileged, let them come out and declare so we find a way to help them. The school was talking about scholarships to support sound students, what is the students union doing. We protested. We barricaded for 2 days. After that we have heard little or nothing. Since the management shut down the school indefinitely are we still saying total No to school fees increment? Most people have paid their school fees mind you, so who are we fighting for.

Now that we are at home, people are getting frustrated and they just want to resume. When an approach doesn’t work, can’t we find another? Must our academic calender suffer for it? After 6 months of ASUU strike. The question is are we justified? Do we deserve this? Obviously, the school will re-open when the management chooses, then they’ll proscribe the union (again). Afterwards, we’ll return to our normal way of life like nothing happened. Then maybe, ASUU, NASU, and others will embark on their respective strikes once again. Our lecturers will keep getting paid and we will keep wasting our time… Where do we go from here?

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