"OAU Says NO" To School Fees Hike

 If there is something the entirety of Great Ife students
are popularly and powerfully known for, it is nothing
but total opposition, rejection and aluta against all
forms of oppression, anti-mass policies and
unreasonable reasonings.
It is no longer rumour but a verified fact that the
Obafemi Awolowo University school management has
concluded plans to increase the school fees of
incoming students i.e the freshmen and the returning
students for the 2013/2014 Academic Session. This
was made conspicuous in the first stakeholders
meeting held today at the level of the Ken Saro Wiwa
Student Union Building. The stakeholders meeting had
in attendance the Central Executive Council, Students
Representative Council, Hall Executive Council,
Presidents of Faculties, Departments and Associations,
Media Groups and some prominent and concerned
Great Ife students.
The sole agendum of the meeting was to fashion out
workable ways to reject the proposed action of the
school management on fees. It was reached that the
proposed school fees scheme is not only unjustifiable
but also not warranted. It is just a deliberate aim at
grieving the students and their sponsors at a delicate
time like this, the stakeholders opined. In a document
presented by the President of the Students' Union,
Ibikunle Isaac Motunrayo has the school Senate's
ratification and endorsement of the fee increment
scheme, it reflects that OAU students will be paying as
huge as N72,000-N80,000 as against the present fees
which is as low as N7,000 in most faculties.
The Student leaders argued that the students are not
to be held responsible for the irresponsibility of the
Government at this time as against the reason of poor
financing of the institution by the Government given
by the school management. Godspower, one of the
Student Representatives in his own submission said
'the foundation of OAU was laid by our forefathers for
the poor, the pepper sellers and the farmers' wards, I
don't have money and that is why I am here. If I had
money, I would have gone to LASU or UNILAG where
they pay exorbitant fees'. The Students leaders
however advised the incoming students to be patient
and be careful not to pay that unjustifiable fees. Any
fresher who pays that amount is doing that at his/her
own risk'.
Some stakeholders however call on all tertiary
institutions across the nation to join this struggle
because if this policy is eventually implemented in a
school as sagacious as OAU, then other Nigerian
schools are not safe from it and even expect a more
dehumanizing payment scheme in no time.
In lieu of this, the P.R.O of the Students' Union,
Bamidele Oludare launched the media hashtag to be
used for the campaign to show the students
dissatisfaction. You can follow the struggle on twitter
and facebook using the hashtag #OAUsaysNO
It will be recalled that OAU Students' Union was
proscribed in 2011 as a result of students
demostration against the increment of the School's
Acceptance fee from N2,000 to N20,000. The Union
was later reinstated after 3 years of proscription about
two months ago.