The Nigeria?s university students under the aegis of National Association of University Students (NAUS), have expressed deep dissatisfaction with some socio-economic issues in the country, identifying the recent hike in telecom tariffs, the high level of insecurity in and around campuses as well as the incessant power outage being experienced also in campuses.

They also mentioned alleged poor welfare conditions especially in their hostels and academic environments as well as the ongoing industrial action embarked upon by the clinical lecturers in some of the federal universities, especially in the Southwest, calling on respective authorities concern to take immediate step and address them in order to make ?lives bearable? for them generally nationwide.

The students? body expressed these concerns on Thursday at a press conference in Lagos.

NAUS is an umbrella body of all the university students across the country.

Addressing journalists, Mr. Tiamiyu Olayinka, who is the National Vice President of the association in charge of the Southwest Zone, stated that Nigeria?s university students are really faced with many challenges that are threatening their studies, wellbeing as well as lives generally.

He said government must have to do something urgently to address those challenges and also ensure that the various telecom service providers ? MTN, Airtel, Glo and others ? reversed their current high tariffs to the old order.

Olayinka explained various negative impacts of each of the challenges as affecting the generality of students.

According to him, the alarming state of insecurity in the country and in and around campuses has turned our school environments to jungles where robbery, harassment, and kidnapping take place unchallenged and putting our lives and property in danger.

He added, ?We are also faced with the problem of epileptic power supply, the condition of which has rendered our laboratories, libraries, and ICT centres no go areas, especially at nights.

Another challenge, he noted, is the issue of current strike by the clinical lecturers in our federal universities, especially in the Southwest, which has placed our medical colleagues in a difficult situation, delaying their academic progress and threatening the future of healthcare services in the country.

?We also have the problem of overcrowded population in our hostels and classrooms and so forth.?

Speaking further, Olayinka with other leaders of the association from the Southwest in attendance pointed out that these challenges are outside the rising costs of goods and services that majority of Nigerians including students are also grappling with and without time of reprieve in sight.

He therefore restated their demands, including the immediate reversal of the telecom tariffs hike, the enhancement of security measures to guarantee the safety of people and property in campuses.

?We also want urgent measures to be put in place in campuses to stabilize power supply to our campuses and address our welfare particularly in terms of hostels renovation, and the provision of good healthcare services, and amicable resolution on the differences causing industrial actions by the clinical lecturers in the federal universities in the southwest.

Even though, we are committed to peace sustenance in our campuses and the nation at large, we are also ready to take a decisive action if our concerns are ignored by the relevant authorities.

They students emphasised that, ?The future of Nigerian students cannot continue to be kept under risk due to neglect and insensitivity, especially of the people holding political powers. (Nigerian Tribune)

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