BY EBUN SESSOU
After several years of attempting Joint Admission Matriculation Board, JAMB and Post UME examinations, Linda, 25, finally secured admission into the Lagos State University (LASU).

She was enthusiastic and the fact that she would be joining her friends in the higher institution was now a dream come true, she thought.

When she told her parent that she had secured admission into the Lagos State University to study Medicine, they were happy for her.

Before Linda broke the news of her admission to her parents, she has been doing some secret shoppings in her readiness for her new status.

She bought herself new pairs of shoes, clothes, undies as well as her toiletries. And so, she was waiting for the day she would be resuming finally in LASU.

Few days before the resumption, her friends called her based on the latest information they got from the University, on how much she was expected to pay as fees as a new student who will be studying medicine.

Linda was shocked at the news because she was told that a medicine student was expected to pay the sum of N348, 750 as against the initial fees of N25, 000.

She narrated the story to her parents and how the fresh students were expected to pay the money at once as against the instalmental way of payment. Linda is the only daughter of her parents and the third in a family of seven. She wasn’t born with a silver spoon. Her father is a retired civil servant in his late sixties while her mother, 60 years old, is a petty trader.

As much as her parents were looking forward to her admission day, they were given the shock of their lives as they never expected that Linda’s fees would be such a huge amount of money.

They then asked her to withdraw whatever plan she had been making and consider writing another examination in the coming year.

Linda couldn’t believe that she would not be in LASU and so, she was pained by her parent’s reaction to stop her plans.

For three days, she refused to eat in the house and so, her parents threw her out of the house because they believed that she couldn’t understand their predicament.

For the past six months, the family had been living from hands to mouths because things were not alright financially.

Linda is now serving as a maid in the neighbourhood in a local restaurant where she can gather some money to start a petty trade.

Unfortunately, she is not the only victim of LASU’s outrageous fees. Mrs. Arowolo, a widow, civil servant and mother of five also narrated how the news of this obnoxious fees landed her in the hospital.

Her three sons, Reuben, Aaron and Timothy returned from the Lagos State University, Ojo campus where they went to confirm the mode of payment.

LASU Students

“My three sons have just secured admission to study Engineering, Law and Social and Management Sciences respectively. I remembered they told me that the tuition fees was N25, 000 per child. “But I was shocked when they came back and told me that every student in their departments is expected to pay N298, 750, N248,750 and N223, 750 respectively and must be paid once.

“I was trying to calculate their fees when I lost my memory. I didn’t know what happened after then but the only thing I can say was that, I am here in the hospital. I don’t know how to pay these children’s fees and this year will be their third time of attempting this examination before they finally secured this admission”, Mrs Arowolo lamented.

Eric Alogba 23 was another victim of this tuition fees. Narrating his story, he said, “I just got admission to study French at the Lagos State University. The first time I got my letter of admission, I was happy that I finally made it but right now, my happiness is sore. This is because Lagos State government has decided to make education unbearable for the children of the poor. The fee that was supposed to be N35, 000 is now N193, 750 as fresher.

“When I broke the news to my parent, they demanded that I should withdraw whatever preparation and stay back home because they could not afford such amount of money. The truth is that my two brothers are still in the Universities. We are eight in the family and my parents are not buoyant enough to pay such an outrageous money. The only thing I do now tis o come to LASU everyday to see if there will be new development. Perhaps, the state government might reverse his decision. And if, I have to stay back and hold on for another examination in the coming year and probably choose another university of my choice.

“I never knew that I wouldn’t be allowed to study in my own state as an indigene. My mother has been sick since she heard the news about the fees. My hope has been shattered and right now, I am confused. If nothing new comes out, I don’t know what to do. I am the fourth son of my parents. I think, all the new students should come together and resist this policy that has no conscious of the masses, “ he added.

Reacting, Speaker, Students’ Parliamentary Council, SPC-LASU, Azeez Rasheed, said, “What is happening in the University started in 2009 during the regime of the former vice-chancellor, Prof Lateef Akanni Hussein. The staff union insisted that he should be sacked. Their excuse was that they were being governed by a tyrant called Hussein and so they could no longer tolerate him. The case was sent to the house of assembly, and the governor who visited the univserity sent a visitation panel comprising of Mrs. Okunnu, Justice Da Silva and Prof. Itse Sagay and others.

“ The visitation panel came up with a report recommending that the tuition fees should be increased. Their reports also showed that if the university would be international standard, that the only way was to increase the tuition fees.

“The people whom we believed to be eminent Nigerians are the same people suggesting such obnoxious policy. It is a pity that the State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, appended his signature to this fees which is alienating the poor from having good education.

“Lagosians see Lagos State University as a refuge place for the poor because of the low fees. And instead of government to make all the necessary provisions for conducive environment and ensure infrastructural development, the best thing was to come up with increase in student’ fees. There is no infrastructural development in LASU in which the students can get value for the money they are paying.

“In 2005, the same excuse was given by the administration of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu when it suddenly increased the fees from N250 to N25, 000 which was over 100 percent and right now, it is over 725 percent. This policy is trying to alienate the pepper, boli seller’s children from going to university.

“When the honourable speaker of the house was saying that a tertiary institution is not meant for poor man’s ward, the commissioner of information said that tertiary education is not meant for everybody. This is contrary to the agenda of Alhaji Lateef Jakande, the edict that founded this institution in 1984 because the university is meant to be a tuition free institution.

“Students are still managing to pay the twenty-five thousand naira before the state government came up with this obnoxious policy. And if there is going to be an increment, perhaps 10 to 15 percent is enough so that the government will be able to invest in the university. And in about five years, the government will be reaping that it has sowed. The students will get immediate value for their money they are paying.

“But, if the government says, there is no going back on its decision, then the students will decided their fate. They gave two weeks for the payment of the school fees. Government threatened that any student who fails to pay before the first deadline, which was November 30 will have to forfeit his or her admission automatically.

Government is aware that the fees are outrageous because they know that poor people cannot bear the burden. The government should subsidise education because it is one of the fundamental human right of human beings. In article 20 of the universal declaration of the freedom of right, education is part of it. So, why should the government insist on no free education.

“Besides, we are not getting value for the N25, 000 we were paying. We have a vegetable institution called LASU. During the rainy season, the environment is water- logged. Nobody can stand the mess. The newest structure on ground is the faculty of social sciences. The faculty was built with over N450m. It has nine classrooms partitioned with plywood. It has over 920 offices with nine toilets. A class meant for 50 students now serves 150 students.

“The university was formally government college, and nothing has changed except the faculty of management sciences which was built in the year 2000. Almost all the buildings were donated by corporate organisations and philanthropists including Julius Berger, Okunuga’s family, S.L Edu and the new hall which was donated by Sobowale Thompson, while the sport complex was donated by Okoya Thomas. “Lagos State government cannot point at a structure built by it except for the faculty of social and management science. The sandwich building was built by the sandwich students.

“Government said the new policy will not affect the returnees but we all know that it is a divide and rule tactics. The government knows that if increment cut across the old students then, the issue would have been degenerated. And there will be a massive revolt to that.

“Any student who chose this university as choice never knew that he or she would be requested to pay such a huge amount of money. We all know that the policy will cut across everybody and that is why we are kicking against it.

“There are more than 25, 000 regular students while there are more than 30, 000 students on part-time courses. There was a case when N2m was used to fix a door in LASU. The policy is obnoxious and it cannot be sustained.

If any parent has paid this money, then it is the upper class citizens in the country who do not know or feel the pain of the common pain.

Meanwhile, President, Lagos State University, Student Union Government, Comrade Akeem Durojaye said the only reason why they have held their peace is to disabuse people’s mind against violence and restlessness LASU has been known for.

“Our peaceful protest is not borne out of victimisation but on the fact that we want people to realise that we are peace lovers. In recent times, people have been saying LASU is a restive school and therefore, we don’t want that to continue.

“Last week, we shut down the activities in the school for three days and the only thing the State government could do was to hire uniform men who now occupy our school which is unwise.

The student union building has been locked up and in addendum to that, the student union activities have been suspended.

We believe we are unshakable and we believe nobody except the congregation of the students can withdraw the mandate from us.

“We have sent letters to NANS, National Association of Nigerian Students for assistance because we believe it is a struggle for liberation. We are embarking on joint peaceful protest with JCC, Lagos axis to the governor’s office.

“We believe an injury to one is an injury to all. The SUG, LASU still says no to obnoxious increment of fees.

“According to UN benchmark, more than 70 perfect of Lagosians are poor. And also, it stated that Lagos state is educational disadvantaged state. This policy is that it will contribute negatively to the growth of the state. We are the future generation of the state and therefore, we will refuse it in its totality. If not, the poor will not have access to education in the state which will be detrimental to the future of the state.

“Lagos state is economically buoyant contributing 50 percent in Nigeria therefore it is wrong for the state government to say it cannot finance its only university. Lagos state is generating above N60 b every month, above 40 from internal regenerated revenue and above 20 from the state allocation. Lagos state has the capacity to finance LASU but they are only acquiring the wealth for self ish reasons.

“Recently, the governor of the state donated a $1m building in UNIBEN as allumni of the university, yet he cannot donate that in his state university.

“The effect of the increment will be high criminal rate, corruption and unemployment. We are highly disappointed with the decision of the governor and ACN- led administration in the state. It is obvious that they don’t have good intention for the students. They have promised us qualitative education by following the ideology of late chief Obafemi Awolowo.

“Awolowo championed free education in 1950 which many of them enjoyed, even to the level of scholarship and international education. Yet, it is impossible for them to give free education. Fashola enjoyed free education in UNIBEN during “Ali Must Go” crisis in 1978. He should pay Lagosians back with this unacceptable policy,” he added.

“We believe that the university should not be run on commercialised basis but service oriented. The government should prioritise the university as number one on the list. We cannot be building bridges at the expense of education. No government is allowed to frustrate its citizens. No bad product can rule twice.”

Presently, the university is paraded by uniformed men in two Armoured Personnel Carriers, APCs, six Police Hilux vans, two Police trucks and one Mercedes Benz car.