Few days after their convocation ceremonies, aggrieved students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) yesterday, staged a peaceful protest, demanding the immediate postponement of their examination.

The students said the erratic power supply on campus, coupled with the appalling scarcity of water in all the halls of residence had stalled their preparation for the end of semester examination.

Daily Sun learnt that the aggrieved students took off from the Jaja Hall at 7a.m., chanting rebellious songs that derided the management of the university. They accused the principal officers of the university of being insensitive to their plight, noting that their preparations for the examination had been hampered by the incessant power outage and water scarcity on campus.

One of the students, who gave his name as Ayodele, said the situation on campus has been intolerable for the past months, such that they find it difficult to study.

He said the constant disruptions in electricity supply and daily scramble for water had made life unbearable for students, especially those in their final year.

“Electricity has not been provided regularly on campus. The university is rationalising the light. One hall of residence will have light for one night, while another hall will be in darkness,” he said.

A reliable source told Daily Sun that the university survived on N10million monthly allocation from the Federal Government, a situation that starved the university the resources needed for uninterrupted power supply.

The source said the institution had been running generating plants to generate electricity on campus. Aside the high cost of diesel, he said the vast area of the university also overloads the generating plants, which prompted the school to be rationalising the electricity supply to the various hostels.

Indications of the challenges facing the university emerged during the convocation ceremonies, when the Vice Chancellor, Prof Rahamon Bello, made a public appeal to philanthropists to assist the university in solving its accommodation problems. According to him, the university had been suffering dearth of bed spaces on campus, with 35,000 students sharing 8,500 bed spaces.

Bello said the parents’ forum of the university embarked on a 1000 bed space project, but noted that it was a far cry from the accommodation need of the institution, which had become the most preferred university by students seeking admission.

*Adapted from Daily Sun. Photo shows

Update news