10 things OAU students ask from Buhari at Independence

While many Nigerian celebrated, the members of and leaders of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ife, Students Union filed out en-masse to protest over the poor fortuned of Education in Nigeria.

Chief among their demands tabled before President Muhammadu Buhari in an Independence Day press release titled 'INDEPENDENCE OR NEW COLONIALISM', was the poor funding of educational sector and the failure of some states governments pay workers' salaries, with emphasis on Osun state and Oyo.

The leadership of the union; President, Omotayo Akande, Secretary General, Oketooto Oluwaseun and Public Relations Officer, Emmanuel Ojedokun, jointly signed the release, urging Buhari to, amongst other things, increase budgetary allocations for education to 26% of the total budget.

READ: OAU students say Buhari's bailout to debtor states is an anti-poor Greek gift

Here is a breakdown of their demands:

1. Abolish tuition fees

"The union at this juncture uses this medium to demand an immediate abolition of fee on Nigerian campuses.

“Fee hike on Nigerian campuses have at best achieved magnified poor academic conditions and priced education out of the reach of the children of the poor majority.”

2. Investigate OAU VC, Professor Idowu Bamitale Omole, for corruption, others

"We must however assert at this point that although government allocates an insignificant amount into Nigerian universities, but on OAU campus, out of the little allocated into the university coffers, much is stolen by the Professor Bamitale Omole led administration.

"Immediate probe of the principal officers of Nigerian universities including the Professor Bamitale led Omole led administration on OAU campus."

3. Increase in budgetary allocation to education

"Allocation to education sector must be increased to 26% as recommended by UNESCO for developing countries.

"If the government could unreasonably commit a huge part of our yearly budget towards servicing the pockets of greedy politicians, it must as a matter of priority divert such attention to committing reasonable budgetary allocation (at least 26%) to the education sector.

“Lecture theatres remain inadequate and awful, hostels are unbefitting of poultries, laboratories are in shambles, power and water supply remain erratic, Nigerian campuses are still entrenched in brain drain vis-à-vis abject general welfare condition."

4. Payment of workers' salaries

"[We demand] Immediate payment of workers’ salaries.

"It is with no doubt a height of economic absurdity and extreme dehumanization to subject the already financially battered Nigerian workers to a horrendous pay-delay that have ridiculously piled up to over 9 months.

Despite the fact that this economically most active section of this society is being placed on a ludicrously paltry pay of 18000 naira minimum wage which is in addition to an unjustifiable long hours of work yet the government still places itself at a vanguard of wickedly depriving the poor Nigerians of this miserable pay."

5. Caution for Oyo state governor Abiola Adeyemi Ajimobi

"The pronouncement of the Ajimobi led government to stop the payment of WASSCE fee is anti-poor and lacks rational bases. “He short-sightedly blamed students’ mass failure in the exams on student and parent ineptitude rather than on poor education infrastructure.

"How do you expect academic success from students who are forced to learn under terrible conditions of inadequate teachers, bad classes, wretched laboratories and libraries?

"This is in addition to the poor financial state of their parents that have only produced student who learn under a horrific condition of perpetual hunger."

6. Caution for Ogun state governor Ibikunle Amosun

"We would not as well forget to condemn in strong terms the Amosun led government in Ogun state who irrationally sacked some teachers in the state for setting a question which according to him is offensive.

"The teachers were sacked for setting an exam comprehensive passage that reflected the terrible state of the Nigerian educational sector especially in Ogun state.

"The union in fact commends this group of examiners for passing the messages of the Nigerian people through the necessary means possible even in the face of unreliable labour unions and government high-handedness."

7. Knocks for Osun state governor Rauf Aregbesola

"Funny enough though, the state government of Osun even upon receiving the nasty bailout still refused to pay the workers their nine month remunerations.

"What an irony."

8. Caution for Nigerian governors over poor state of education

"The government at all levels must at this point commit more public resources towards the revitalization of the ramshacked education infrastructures rather than placing a groundless blame and more financial burden on poor Nigerians."

9. Halt Commercialization/Privatisation

"Without any modicum of doubt, it is very obvious that the economic pressures wickedly crafted by extreme outrageous pay of government officials and ludicrous extent of corruption is only surpassed by the consequences of the vindictive program of privatization and commercialization of publicly owned capital.

"It is on this note that we assert that the mass of impoverished Nigerians should not be made to pay for a problem they have not created."

10. Adjustment of political office holders' pay

“The Nigerian populations are becoming poorer and the rich are getting richer at the expense of impoverishment of the vast majority.

“Our country is thrown into utter turmoil and yet the thieving government is getting fatter.”