Tackle hardship, insecurity, OAU students advise FG

The Obafemi Awolowo University Students’ Union Students Representative Council has denounced the nation’s ongoing economic suffering and instability.

In a statement sent to our correspondent on Sunday from the SRC’s Ile-Ife campus, the federal government was urged to address these issues right away.

Nigerians have been feeling the effects of the country’s harsh economic circumstances, particularly since President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy upon taking office on May 29, 2023, which caused the price of gasoline to rise from about N200 to over N600.

In addition, the ongoing depreciation of the naira against the US dollar has resulted in inflation in the price of goods and services in the nation, a hardship that many Nigerians bemoan.

President Tinubu ordered the release of 102,000 metric tons of different types of grains from the Strategic Reserve and the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria on February 8, 2024, as a temporary solution to the country’s worsening food crisis and the rising cost of commodities.

The economic hardship, according to the OAU students, “reflects the sheer negligence and incompetence of our leaders,” according to a statement released by the Great IFE SRC’s Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Clerk, and Ganiyu Yusuf, respectively.

It is becoming more and more difficult for the average Nigerian to afford basic necessities as a result of the worrying economic downturn and the exorbitant cost of living, the statement continued.

“Rampant cases of insecurity, including kidnapping and banditry, have reached unprecedented levels, instilling fear and apprehension in the hearts of citizens across the nation,” the statement on insecurity read. It is completely intolerable and is no longer acceptable for the government to put the safety and security of its citizens last.

Additionally, “the government’s neglect of the education sector, evident in insufficient budget allocations and underfunding of tertiary institutions,” was denounced by the student leaders.

There have been an increasing number of insecure incidents across the nation since December 2023, ranging from kidnappings in Abuja, Lagos, Ogun, and the Plateau to killings in that region.

In addition, on Saturday, some bandits reportedly broke into the Igabi communities of Gwada and Kassam as well as the Kauru local government areas of Kaduna, resulting in nine deaths and seven injuries. Numerous people were also taken hostage, including the director of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who is now retired.

The incident was confirmed in an official statement from the state government, which was issued by Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner overseeing internal security and home affairs. However, there was no mention of the individuals who were killed and abducted in the state’s LGAs of Igabi and Kauru.