LASU boils over tuition fee hike …Students protest, barricade Mile 2- Badagry Expressway, others

The students of Lagos State University (LASU) yesterday kept to their promise to confront the state government and the university authorities over the tuition fees increment as they barricaded the Badagry Expressway, Iba Road and the Old Ojo Road while the policemen watched helplessly.

As earlier as 8.00am, the students, led by the Students Union President, Akeem Durojaiye and other exco members, locked the two main gates and then proceeded to barricade the Badagry Expressway, Old Ojo Road and Iba Road with seized buses, trucks and disused tyres, thus preventing traffic flow on the three major roads.


The arrival of policemen from Ojo Police Station, including the Area Commander did not stop the students from carrying out their protest against the fee hike, as the security personnel stood from a distance watching the angry students’ barricade the Badagry Express way as well as lock the main entrance gate to the university.

The students also disrupted the ongoing examinations, particularly one that involved the entire students, General Studies (GNS), switched off generating sets being used in some faculties and ordered banks operating on the campus to close for business. The new regime of tuition fees as recommended by the visitation panel and approved by the state government are College of Medicine N348,750, Faculties of Arts/Education N193,750, Faculties of Social and Management Sciences N223,750, Law programmes N248,750, Communication/ Transport faculties N238,750, Science Faculty N258,750 and Engineering Faculty N298, 750.

The protest, which caught commuters unaware, disrupted commercial activities leading to long gridlock stretching from LASU gate to under bridge bus-stop for those heading to the Mainland, Oshodi, Mile 2, Costain while the one from Badagry end stretched from Alaba Rago to Ijaniki. While the students were protesting, the university authorities issued a statement, warning that any student apprehended disrupting the peace of LASU or scuttling the ongoing progress and development in the institution would be treated individually by law enforcement agency.

The statement from the management only fueled the protest as the Students Union President, Durojaiye instructed the students to charge towards the university administrative block and after their efforts to go into the building proved futile, they put off the generator and instructed the construction workers to cease work. As a result of the protest by the students, the acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, Registrar, Mr. L.O. Animashaun and the Bursar stayed away from the campus based on security advice throughout the demonstration.

The angry students chanted anti-Fashola, Tinubu and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) songs with some carrying placards describing the tuition fees increment as outrageous. In a swift reaction, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) said following the refusal of government to reverse the proposed anti-masses tuition fees, the students staged the first phase of the 7-phase campaign against LASU school fees.