Students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, have threatened to embark on a mass protest if the school management fails to address their demands following a 72-hour lecture boycott over what they described as an inadequate and poorly implemented campus transportation system.
It was gathered on Monday that the boycott begins today (April 14) and will run until Thursday (April 16, 2026).
This resolution was announced in a statement issued by the Students’ Union Government after a congress held on April 9 and subsequent joint meetings of its leadership.
The statement, co-signed by the union president, Adelani David, and secretary-general, Habeeb Oke, said the decision followed weeks of mounting frustration over mobility challenges that have disrupted academic activities and daily movement on campus.
The union shall embark on a total 72-hour lecture boycott starting from Tuesday, 14th April 2026, to Thursday, 16th April 2026. All academic activities are to be boycotted throughout this period,” the statement read.
The students said the new transportation arrangement had worsened commuting conditions across campus, citing insufficient vehicles, overcrowding, long waiting times, and poor route coverage.
According to the union, the situation has been particularly difficult for students living off campus, who now rely on limited and more expensive alternatives outside the university’s control.
They added that repeated engagements with the management had yet to yield immediate relief, despite assurances that the system was still in a “teething phase.”
Speaking with a news agency via WhatsApp, Oke said the new transport system could not cater to over 35,000 students, in addition to staff, traders at the campus market, and daily visitors.
He also noted that transport fares had risen to about N150 from the previous N100, worsening the burden on students.
However, he stressed that the core issue remained the lack of a functional and reliable transport system, as well as the absence of effective measures to ease students’ hardship.
Among their demands are the provisions of more vehicles to serve the student population, the reinstatement of the previous transport arrangement pending improvements, and full consultation with student leaders before further policy changes.
The union also called for a more inclusive and hybrid transport model that reflects the realities of movement within the campus and surrounding communities. It warned that failure to address its concerns within the 72-hour window could lead to an escalation of the protest.
“The leadership shall review the situation at the end of the 72-hour boycott. Further actions, such as a possible mass protest or march, shall be considered if the management fails to address the demands satisfactorily within this period,” the statement added.
The development follows the donation of 80 compressed natural gas buses and tricycles to the university by Nigeria’s First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, aimed at improving campus transportation and easing mobility challenges for students and staff.
The university management subsequently restricted intra-campus movement to the donated vehicles—a move initially welcomed as a modernisation effort but which students say has created unintended operational challenges.
In an earlier statement, the students’ union acknowledged the intervention but noted that implementation gaps had resulted in long queues, delays, and insufficient fleet availability, particularly during peak hours. The union also raised concerns over the exclusion of commercial transport operators previously serving parts of the campus, saying this had further reduced mobility options.
During engagements with student leaders, the management reportedly described the current phase as a transitional “teething period” and assured that additional buses would be introduced within months to improve efficiency.
Despite these assurances, students insist that conditions remain difficult, prompting the boycott as a pressure measure.
Meanwhile, efforts to obtain a response from the university management were unsuccessful, as WhatsApp messages sent to the institution’s public relations officer, Abiodun Olarewaju, had not been replied yet.