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O.A.U.: Students Protest Against Management Decision on Transport.
28th April, 2026.
The students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, have protested against the decision of the school authorities to stop commercial vehicles and motorcycles that were plying the campus to the gate and beyond, as a result of the introduction of CNG vehicles and tricycles to the campus to provide regular services to the students.
The students were seen gathering in front of the school gate, saying that the school management has to bring back the commercial vehicles and motorcycles on campus because of the population of people and the services rendered on campus. Their call was that the school management should not have stopped the services of those commercial vehicles and motorcycles that were rendering services to the students because the number of the government CNG vehicles and tricycles introduced is not enough, considering the population of the students and the services they rendered.
Some of the protesters who spoke on the protest anonymously said that the government only provided fifty CNG buses and thirty tricycles for the students, which is not enough at all for them. Moreover, most of them have to queue for a long time before they can get to their classes on time, and in most cases, the queues would make them miss their classes.
As of the time of filing this report, the vehicles were parked in front of the Student Union Building garage without drivers to operate them. The tricycles are powered by solar energy, and the complaint of the students was that most of the tricycles usually stop on the road, especially when the sun is yet to rise, thereby making them embark on unplanned trekking.
The students and other people on campus were seen trekking from the gate to their destinations on campus. No motorcycles or commercial vehicles were plying the road, as most workers were begging private car owners to give them lifts to their destinations.
Similarly, economic activities among some people who have businesses on campus were paralyzed, as the students who patronize them were not forthcoming due to this situation. The students were complaining that the situation would put more hardship on their academics, as most of them would be late to their classes because there are no motorcycles rendering services to them any longer. The students said that, for now, they have to go and buy tickets from POS service operators on campus before they can access the services of those buses.
According to sources, the students’ complaint was that the management should have allowed those commercial vehicles and motorcycles to operate hand in hand with the new CNG vehicles because they are not enough. As of the time of filing this report, the school management is yet to issue any communication to this effect, but for now, the environment has been calmed, waiting for the directive of the school management to this effect, but source close to the authority said students have been asked to vacate the campus for three weeks. Though people are still trekking long distances.
