UNIOSUN Crisis: Students regret vandalisation, beg Osun deputy governor to intervene

Students in the Faculty of Humanities and Culture of the Osun State University [UNIOSUN], Ikire, have called on the state’s deputy governor, who doubles as Commissioner for Education, Titi- Laoye Tomori, to wade into the crisis rocking the university.

In a press release jointly signed by the outgoing president of faculty students’ association, Siji Samson and the president-elect, Abubakar Basit, the students requested the deputy governor to facilitate the reopening of their campus to enable them complete their course works and exams.

The faculty was on Saturday, August 16, closed indefinitely owing to violent protest by students of the institution over an accident involving a vehicle conveying some students on excursion to Oke-Ila, a town in Ifedayo local government area of the state.

Messrs Siji and Basit described as regrettable the violent protest that ensued after news of the accident filtered into campus.

The statement added: “With the compromise reached by our parents on 6th of September, 2014, concerning the closure of our campus, we pray her excellency to facilitate reopening of our classes to enable us complete our course works and sit for our exams.

“While we appreciate the management’s concern, we appeal to them to bury the hatchet. It is enough that the unique opportunity to display our civility in such a matter that could have marked the end of our frustration was misused.

“We do not share the position and sentiments of those justifying the vandalisation of school properties, but we charge the school management to address students’ grievances and resolve whatever issue that arose from the incident with fairness and not by throwing out the baby with the bath water.”