University of Ibadan Medical Students studying at the University College Hospital (UCH) yesterday staged a protest to challenge and express displeasure at Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) for disconnecting electricity to their halls of residence.
The students carrying placards, shut down the entrance gate of the hospital, causing heavy traffic around the axis. They insisted on not ending the protest until their hostels were reconnected.
The affected students carried placards with inscriptions such as “Enough is enough”, ‘’IBEDC gives us light”, “The present development is unacceptable”, “We have been in darkness in the past 105 days” and “For how long are we going to continue in this kind situation?”
Others read: “The government is making things difficult for us”, “We are studying under darkness and the public will expect something from us”, “After paying so much as tuition fees, we are still being subjected to hardship. This is nothing but denial of studentship right”, “This is nothing but high level of corruption”, among others.
The Nation reports that the distribution company on Wednesday restored power to the facility, following a meeting between the management of IBEDC and that of the UCH.
The meeting was facilitated by the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu. At the meeting, IBEDC agreed to restore power to UCH within 24 to 48 hours after the meeting.
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The promise was fulfilled when power was restored to the clinical areas of the facility on Wednesday.
It was gathered that light was restored around 6pm to the clinical area only, as residential and commercial areas were left out.
The development sparked protest by the students, who expressed displeasure about the disconnection of light from their halls of residence, despite payment of tuition fee, an action they regarded as denial of their studentship right.
Speaking during the protest, the President, University of Ibadan Student Union, Comrade Aweda Bolaji, said it was disheartening that what the minister promised was that light would be restored to the whole of UCH.
He said they had warned both the management of the hospital and the IBEDC that that they would shut down the hospital if the halls of residence were cut off from electricity.
Bolaji said: “We are here to protest the deliberate disconnection of light of our halls of residence from the electricity that was restored to UCH yesterday (Wednesday).’’
The Vice-President, UI Medical Students Association, Meliat Adegoke, said it was unfortunate that the students, who took to the streets in protest to ensure light was restored to UCH, ‘’are now the ones who have been cut off from enjoying it.’’
The Senior Special Assistant to Oyo State Governor on Student Affairs, Comrade Victor Olojede, urged the Federal Government to consider the students and ensure they have light in their hostels.
Contacted, the management of IBEDC said it had fulfilled its part of the agreement by reconnecting the clinical part of UCH within 48 hours.
It added that it was awaiting further directive from the management of UCH regarding the reconnection of other sections.