It’s the second half of the 2024/2025 academic session at the University of Ibadan. While some students are fully prepared for academic activities, others are still trying to catch up with the demands of the new semester.

Last semester had already been  challenging for many students at the 76-year-old tertiary institution.  From accommodation concerns to erratic electricity,  academic pressure, and prevalent insecurity   as experienced in some halls of residence within the university. There were also unaddressed fee concerns.

The second  leg  of the 2024/2025 academic year is more critical for some students, especially those at their final laps, who are currently working on their undergraduate projects. As the second semester commences, learning, for some students,  will not take place in the classroom but out in the field. Every session or semester brings a series of challenges for UI students, which are often neglected by their representatives.

Accommodation Concerns

Securing accommodation  at the beginning of every session remains one of the most pressing challenges faced by students at the University of Ibadan, yet integral to their  academic survival.

Time and time again in the  past sessions, every student has  a story to tell regarding the annual struggle to secure a bed space.  While some benefit from influential connections that guarantee their accommodation, other suffer the plight  of academic lives without bed spaces  till, sometimes, the seventh or even eighth week of the semester, leaving consequential effects on their academic endeavors.

It is worth noting that students who were able to secure their accomodations were not  also without challenges as they were burdened with additional expenses, which covered the faulty electrical appliances in their allocated rooms, as well as fumigation against  bedbug infestations,  despite the earlier assurance by  the Students’ Union leadership  to  address the aged-long concerns.  Additionally, due to limited on-campus housing, some students have been compelled to seek off-campus accommodation, where they often face myriad of untold challenges.Despite being a public tertiary institution that  is ideally meant to offer social service, the university continues to lease land for private hostels, which only the well-to-do can afford, disregarding the apparent necessity to reinforce public accommodation.

Equally concerning is the recurring theft in our halls of residence. In June 2025, Zik Press reported the prevalence of theft in Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall of Residence. Some student residents within the hall reportedly lost their  personal belongings, including their gadgets and clothing, to unknown perpetrators. Also, many kitchenettes, contrary to the University of Ibadan Information Handbook, have been converted to rooms within the university’s halls of residence. Despite the conversation being  regarded  by the critical student community as a blatant  affront to  student dignity,  the Students’ Union leadership, led by Odedele Covenant has remained silent, instead of  challenging the development. The Odedele-led administration chooses to follow the path of its predecessor by maintaining mutism in the face of such aberration.

Equally troubling is the neglect of the pressing issues affecting the student residents by the Hall Chairpersons, who are saddled with the mandate to address the students’ accommodation concerns.

Since lobbying the Students’ Representative Council(12th Assembly) for an increment in basic dues, the Council has been nowhere to be found when it comes to student advocacy, which begs the question about what and whose interests it is  representing. The only thing this community is known for is rallying support for their candidates vying for student positions within various constituencies rather than addressing the core accommodation issues affecting the student residents.

Erratic Electricity

A functional academic environment demands reliable electricity, but that has not been the reality at the University of Ibadan. Here, power outages are frequent, leaving students struggling to keep up with their academic endeavors. It is not uncommon to see Uites flocking to Access Bank UI, not to make financial transactions, but to power up their gadgets and, at times, even fetch water.The erratic power supply has long been a recurring issue during examinations, affecting students’ performance

The only glimmer of hope is the federal government’s assurance to provide mini-grids for tertiary institutions, as earlier disclosed by Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa.

Academic Struggles

The academic calendar has become a significant challenge for students at the University of Ibadan following the university’s shift from a thirteen to an eleventh month academic calendar. Some courses frequently do not commence until the sixth or seventh week of the semester. Yet, students are still expected to take examination assessments despite having received minimal knowledge of course content.

In some cases, some lecturers resume academic duties as late as the 8th week of the semester, resulting in a condensed delivery of course content to the students. Lecture theaters are often overcrowded and marred by deplorable conditions. In most cases, students are forced to sit on the floor, symbolizing what that may be described as an aberration to what should exist in a public tertiary institution like ours.

Additionally, timetable clashes continue to disrupt academic schedules, often forcing students to abandon one class in favor of another. Despite the persistent concern, the Students’ Union Vice-President, Olabisi Owadayo, despite being constitutionally saddled with responsibility to address issues related to the academic welfare of the students, has chosen to follow the path of her predecessor by remaining silent. It is pathetic that the Students’ Union Vice-President position appears to have often been reduced to organizing events and tutorials, which have shown little impact, as mass failure persists among the students.

Fee Concerns

One of the most pressing challenges students face on campus is the issue regarding fee concerns. The fee Increment began during the Samson Tobiloba-led administration, and has continued to persist. Efforts to address the fee concerns through ratified Students’ Union Congresses have been, time and time in past sessions, frustrated by students’ Union leaders.

Most recently, the Students’ Union Executive Committee, led by Odedele Covenant, cancelled two Congresses last semester, despite being ratified by the Students’ Representative Council, the policy-making organ of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union, and intended to address fee concerns.

Failing to live up to its mandate as a check on the defaults or excesses of the Executive Council Committee, the 12th Assembly, led by Shoge Quadri, chose the misrepresentation of the core concerns of the student community by not holding Odedele-led administration to account for defaulting the binding policy.

Still, students are being required to pay for services they never receive, such as studio fees as the case may be in some departments. Worth adding, there is no clear explanation for the wide variation in hall accommodation fees. While some students pay ₦60,000 for accommodation, others, believed to be earlier admitted, pay ₦45,000, despite being assigned to the same room

Student Victimization

Victimization has become a recurring issue at the University of Ibadan, where security personnel often harass students without being called to book. On March 7, during the Inauguration of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union leadership, two campus journalists, Olanshile Ogunrinu, and Akanni, were reportedly manhandled by the campus security personnel while performing their journalistic duties. Their only “offence” was practicing journalism.

Similarly, Nice Linus, an elected student representative, was suspended from the 12th Assembly over a pending case. Despite the Federal High Court mandating her reinstatement, the Students’ Representative Council, led by Shoge Quadri, treated the court order binding on the Council with contempt.

The pattern of victimization was also extended to two students of the University, Ayodele Aduwo and Mide Gbadegesin, who were suspended for four semesters for participating in a peaceful protest against the systematization of fee Increment. Despite condemnation from human rights groups, including Amnesty International, and several calls for their suspension reversal, the University has continued to disregard the public outcry.

It is deeply unfair that these pressing issues remain unaddressed. The students of the University deserve better than the continued neglect of their welfare.Their concerns, ranging from  accommodation issues and erratic power supply to poor security and  declining academic conditions, deserve  proactive institutional response.

Concerned stakeholders, including the management and student leaders across halls, faculties, departments, and student organizations, should lend their proactive responses to these numerous concerns of ours. When students’ welfare is effectively prioritized and well represented, they are better positioned to gain ground, not only in their academics, but also in their personal development and well-being. The neglect of these concerns is too evident  and apparent, it must be done away with.