The hike in transportation prices around the OAU community has become a sore topic for all students of this great institution, especially for the large percentage of the student populace that stays off campus.
Even when the prices of transportation were not this high, students were struggling to pay the transportation prices. After the increase in hostel prices off campus, it seems the spirit of extortion has spread from hostel owners to the motorcyclists and bus drivers.
They do not understand the basic fact that we are students, and a large number of these students do not have the financial means to meet up to these excessive prices. Speaking with some of these motorcyclists and bus drivers, they are not even remotely apologetic, showing that they have little to no care about the students and our well-being.
They need to understand the fact that most students are still receiving money from their parents and there are self-sponsors as well. The little pocket money received from parents is still used to pay the outrageous transport fare. Taking a look at a student who stays in Mayfair, after paying huge money for rent, will still have to pay #200 to go to campus everyday, #1000 if he goes to school five days a week and that's #5000 a month. Let's assume he was sent #10000 every month, so HALF of his monthly allowance will go to transport fare every month and it might even be more than that. How do you expect such a person to feed? And we are crying that the number of yahoo boys on campus is increasing daily. For those staying in areas like Damico or Modomo where you almost always have to get a motorcycle to carry you to campus gate, the price is even more!
Not every student is from a rich home, and even if we are, are we expected to be spending money anyhow? This issue is making most students to start looking for accommodation on campus which is not provided since the spaces in hostels of residence are not enough.
The Union of motorcyclists and bus drivers will be ready to say that the hike in price is as a result of increase in fuel price and scarcity as well. Looking at it, if we decide to calculate all the profits they will make if they don't increase transportation price and increase only the number of passengers, it will cover up for the hike in fuel price. But now, they increased the transportation fare and they still carry 4 passengers per seat which is not fair AT ALL! Most students have decided to start stabbing some classes due to increase in transportation price. What consequences does this pose to the students' academics in general?
Ife should be a student community, but it often feels like it is an area where the locals try as hard as they can to extort students and make them feel as uncomfortable as possible.
Whose fault is it now, the transporters or the school who fail to provide enough accommodation? Or do we go all the way up the ladder and blame the President of our great country Nigeria? I mean, if there was no fuel scarcity, then the prices might not have been increased. But knowing how Ife bus drivers and motorcyclists work, it was only a matter of time before all these prices were increased. Is it not just last year that the price of bus movement from campus gate to campus was increased to #50. How much longer before we have to start paying double that?
It is with a heavy heart that I write this article because I am witnessing the plight of so many students. This excessive milking of OAU students for theirs and their parents’ hard-earned money needs to stop!
To all whom it may concern!
