Residents of Ogbomoso, Oyo State, have protested the alleged neglect of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) College of Health Sciences and the Teaching Hospital.
They marched on major streets, carrying placards with inscriptions, such as: “No to the marginalisation of the College of Health Sciences and the Teaching Hospital”; “Governor Ajimobi, speak up Now” and “College of Health Sciences has come to stay in Ogbomoso,” among others.
All entrances into LAUTECH’s main campus, the College of Health Sciences and the Teaching Hospital were barricaded by the protesters, who chased workers out of their offices.
The ever-busy Ilorin-Ogbomoso-Oyo highway was closed to traffic, as the protesters made bonfires on the road.
Though armed policemen patrolled the streets to prevent the breakdown of law and order, there was no casualty report.
Speaking through Mr. Akeem Aleem, the protesters said their action became imperative in view of some unpleasant developments at the college.
Aleem said: “What is the justification for sending the salary of teaching hospital workers in Ogbomoso to Osogbo, the Osun State capital, before payment can be effected.
“What is the status of the college as regards workers’ welfare and why? Since it was inaugurated, the College of Health Sciences is yet to have electricity, which makes learning unbearable for the students.”
When the protesters got to the palace, the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Ajagungbade, urged them to conduct themselves with decorum and refrain from acts that can disrupt the peace.
He said: “The people of Ogbomoso are tolerant, peace-loving and accommodating, but they can be very tough and resolute, if their rights are trampled upon.
“The fact that the protesters are mainly indigenes of the town, without any LAUTECH staff joining them, shows that the people are opposed to happenings in the two institutions.”
The monarch told LAUTECH’s Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Sulaiman Gbadegesin, who was reportedly at the palace, to look into the people’s complaints.
