Even as the Students' Union leaders of Obafemi Awolowo University continue to dance to the gallery on their own opinion about the much talked about election break when they are asked, the Union President, Ibikunle Isaac Motunrayo confirmed to The Punch yesterday that students of OAU do not need to be given any election break.
Against the popular opinion of Great Ife students as our correspondents garnered on the matter, the Union President believes there is no threat to lifes on campus which he felt could be the only reason to warrant school closure. According to Ibikunle, the only schools that need to be under lock and keys during the Poll are those in the crisis-prone areas, such as Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states.
Below is an excerpt of his interview with The Punch:
The Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, SUG President, Isaac Ibikunle, looks at the issue from another perspective. While he does not consent to the closing of the university, he holds the view that schools in crisis-prone areas, such as Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states, should have their gates closed within the period.
The final year Law student declares, “The whole thing depends on the location of the school. Why would you close OAU when there is no threat to life and property on campus? We are not envisaging any crisis here.
“Closing the school will result in many students not exercising their voting rights. Apart from that, we are in 2015 but still operating the 2013/2014 academic session that would have ended last September. You know the ASUU strike and the hike in tuition in the school brought about a setback in our calendar. Therefore, the authorities should not compound our problems with another closure.”
It will be recalled that some schools including YABATECH had earlier given their students a 22-day election break so that they can fully participate in the February Polls.