By: Press Council.
In the early hours of today, Thursday, 23rd of November, 2023, at exactly 5:00AM, the occupants of Ramat Hall of Residence started a peaceful protest in reaction to the problem of power outage which has now led to the scarcity of water in the school’s hostels.
The issue of power outage which has existed since the 14th of November, 2023, has made hostel occupants’ livelihood a difficult one. Alot of students find it very hard to attend lectures in due time, and some others reportedly miss tests in their various classes, as they are not able to prepare and set out for classes early.
In an interview with Fatimah, one of the affected students, from the Department of Quantity Surveying, she said; “What is the essence of having a SUG body without feeling their impact, but the only option now is to cry to the Dean of Students Affairs or other high-ranked officials of the institution”.
Another affected student, from Department of Library and Information Studies remarked; “There is no point of living in the school hostel when we cannot have peace of mind. As ladies, we can’t have proper care of our menstrual flow all because of scarcity of water”.
Agbajelola Sherifat also added; “What’s the essence of living in the school’s hostel when my coursemate who lives as far as Iwo Road gets to class before me and writes the tests that I miss as a result of power outage and scarcity of water?”
The protesters from Ramat Hall of Residence led the protest to neighbouring Halls of residence; Olori, Olori Annex, Ramat Extension and Unity halls of residence, respectively. They all joined forces in agitating for a quick solution, thereby getting the small school gate at Apete axis locked.
The boys of Unity Hall of Residence marched to the South part of the school to join voices with the residence of Orisun Hall and protests were staged at the Middle belt and South area of the school premises, having the Middle belt road barricaded and the school’s main gate shut.
In the heat of the peaceful protest, the protesters were intercepted by the Dean Students Affairs, Mr. Makinde John, who tried to calm the situation and addressed the students on possible solutions to the problems they are facing. In his statement, he made it known to the aggrieved students that the school incured some unpaid bills on electricity, which is the major reason for power outage. He however pleaded with the students to exercise patience, as the problem would be solved soon.
He also added that electricity from the school’s power plant will be made available this morning to ease the situation.
The protesters have now returned to their various halls and students have resumed their normal school activities.
Stay tuned for more updates from the Press Council.
