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By Eko John
Nicholas
The students of Ogun state
College of Health Technology, Ilese, took to the streets of Ijebu Ode to
protest lack of power supply in the institution and the surrounding communities,
where majority of the students reside, and the worsening conditions of learning
in the institution. The protest took place on 20th April, 2016.
The Students’ Union leadership
which was initially vacillating was forced into action by pressures from the
mass of the students. This was aided by the intervention of the Education
Rights Campaign, whose member paid a visit to the institution, the previous
day. The ERC member had met with the president of the union, and impressed on
him the needs for mass actions against the hardship faced by students of the
institution due to lack of power supply and worsening conditions of learning in
the school.
At a congress organized by
the union leadership prior to the protest match, to seek approval for the
action, overwhelming numbers of students supported the protest and urged that
the students proceed on protest match without further ado to Ibadan Electricity
Distribution Company (IBEDC) office at ijebu ode. This notwithstanding, the
leadership still seeks clearance from the school authorities. The management as
expected declined to approve the action. Insisting that lack of power supply
was general and not peculiar to the institution. It prevailed on the union to shelve
the planned protest, saying its execution would embarrass the governor, who
would not take kindly to it.
The chief security officer
was instructed to shut the gate and prevent the students from leaving the
institution. This provoked massive agitations amongst students, who insisted
they were adults in higher institution of learning, and would not succumb to be
treated as school pupils. The management fearing threats to law and orders in the
institution occasioned by rising passions and tempers, backed down, and the
gate was thrown open.
The protest match saw the
students and a member of ERC trekking about two kilometer to the Ijebu Ode
office of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), located at Fidipote,
along Folagbade road in the heart of Ijebu Ode township. Instructively, before
the arrival of the students, numbering about 300, the staffs had deserted the
premises, and armed police men and civil defense corps had manned the gate and
adjoining streets to prevent access to the office.
The mass agitations of the
students, who insisted they should be given reason(s) for lack of power supply
to their institution yielded result. The business manager for Ijebu Ode zone
came out to address the students. He mouthed the usual refrain: that it was a
national problem, that IBEDC was just the distribution component in the long
chain of electricity supply, and that it only distributes what is assigned to
it by the generating and transmitting companies, therefore couldn’t give what
it doesn’t possess.
When a member of ERC pointed
out that there were communities in ijebu ode that enjoy almost uninterrupted
power supply, and demanded that the Business Manager gave a definite time for
the restoration of power to the institution, he demurred, but said power would
be restored within 24hrs. He appealed to the students to be peaceful and
patient while they work to restore power.
The students proceeded to
the Nigerian Television Authority, ijebu ode. At NTA, rather than give video
coverage and interview the students, the NTA invited police men to disperse the
students, who insisted on video coverage. The DPO Igbeba police station came
with two police vans, and addressed the students. He said he was not aware of
the protest, saying the students ought to have notified the police before
embarking on protest. That he would have given police protection to the
students. When the students pointed out that such protection was superfluous
and that the protest has been peaceful, he appealed that he should allow to
hold consultations with the staffs of the NTA. After waiting for about 45
minutes without words from the NTA, the students left the TV station and
returned the school.
This action is commendable
and inspiring, although poorly planned. There is need for more of such actions,
against the worsening conditions of learning in Ogun state tertiary
institutions. Therefore, there is need to reach out to other schools for joint
action by ogun state students. To this effect, a day lecture boycotts to
protest the harsh living and learning conditions in the state in particular and
Nigeria in general would serve as a warning signal to the APC-led government in
the state and the federal government. The ERC is prepared to be active in collaborating
and organizing with the students as they begin their journey towards struggle
in the coming periods. 3 copies of SD were sold on the campus a day before the
protest, and 3 contacts, who showed interest to join the ERC, were made during the protest.
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