By: Press Council
The students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, have embarked on a protest, to cry out over the inhumane and lackadaisical attitude being melted out on them by the Oyo State government and the management of their institution.
The peaceful protest, which caught the management of the institution off guard, took place on Monday, 9th January, 2023, the supposed day for the commencement of the first semester examination for the 2022/23 academic session.
The protest saw all entries into the institution locked and left the heart of Ibadan still, as the Students’ Union President, Comrade Oloyede Okiki, marched hundreds of The Polytechnic, Ibadan students down to Oyo State Secretariat from the institution.
Arriving at the Secretariat, the students could be heard chanting aluta gyrations and solidarity choruses, with placards indicating the urgent attention of the students.
Attending to the students, the executive governor of the state, His Excellency, Engineer Seyi Makinde, acknowledged the presence of the students, and enjoined them to remain peaceful, while he addressed the students’ representatives.
While addressing the students’ representatives, Engr Seyi Makinde, through his deputy, His Excellency, Bayo Lawal, acknowledged the needs of the students and promised to attend to them, in due course.
According to the complaints listed in the memorandum presented to the state government, the Students’ Union compared what the government had done to the other institutions to that of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, and critically accused the Oyo State government of preferential and unfair treatment.
The complaint also featured ill maltreatment the students were subjected to by the management of the institution, and charged the government to step into the situation. See images of the complaints below.
Attending to the students’ representatives alongside the deputy governor, was the Commissioner for Education, Barrister Rahman Abiodun, who appealed to the students, stating that the government was never aware of the things they were agitating about. He, however, promised to swing into actions with immediate effect.
Assuring the students of a positive and timely response from the government, Barr Abiodun told the students that he had ordered that the first semester examination be postponed, so as to prevent the students from writing exams under duress. He also implored the students’ representatives to come up with other problems they are facing at the institution, for a meeting the next day, and promised that solutions would be provided to each problem.