By Gab Ejuwa
Certainly, this is not the best of times for Ojo residents living close to th Lagos State University, LASU. Fact is taht the students are restless and restive. Even frustrated by the turn of events in the university, which has a penchant of attracting to itself almost always negative publicity.

And to demonstrate their disenchantment and disillusionment with the authorities of the institution and especially with Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola a.k.a. BRF cum his improportionate increase in school fees, the students have decided to vent their grievances by simply staying away from their ivory-towered campus.

They now barricade the Lagos-Badagry Expressway causing bumper-to-bumper traffic jams which make owning and driving an automobile one of the most frustrating and painful pastimes in the world here. This ugly situation has become the order of the day since the showdown with the government began weeks ago.

For sometime now, the students have been protesting against the increase in their tuition fees. The protest had disrupted the conduct of the second semester examination which was then postponed. Two police vehicles loaded with armed-to-the -teeth policemen were stationed near the gate of the institution. There had been no confrontation or violence since the students do not want to hurt a fly in their protest.

Prior to this incident, it would be recalled again that the management of LASU, Ojo, had announced a 725 per cent increase in the tuition fees to be paid by the 2011/2012 fresh students. This was contained in a document titled “Government’s view on the Report of the Visitation Panel to Lagos State University.” The Government had directed that the new tuition fees shall not be applied retroactively as current students were exempted from the increase.

The document had stipulated that students of Arts / Education are to pay N193,750; Social and Management Sciences N223,750; Law N248,750. In the document Communication/Transport Sciences, Engineering and College of Medicine are respectively to pay N238,750; N258,750; N298,750; and N348,750 as against present fees which range between N25,000 and N62,500. Apart from the relatively legitimate expenses which the university now wants to charge are some charges like N15,000 for Teaching Practice/Field Trip, N50,000 for Moot Court Fee for Law Students, N2,500 for General Studies, N10,000 for Caution Fee, N20,000 for Acceptance Fee which is the sum of all charges in some northern universities. The students naturally protested the disproportionate increase, but the powers that be would have none of that.

And following the refusal by the Lagos State Government to reverse the 725 per cent hike in tuition fees, the leadership of LASU Students Union Government on Monday 21st November 2011 closed down the institution and barricaded the Badagry Expressway.

The union leaders, meeting with the Lagos State lawmakers on Sunday 20th November revealed that Governor Babatunde Fashola affirmed that he was ready to lock up LASU indefinitely if the students would not agree with the state’s proposed five per cent reduction in the hike. This was according to the speaker SPC LASU, Azeez Rasheed on his Facebook page last Nov 20th.

According to the President of the LASU students union, Comrade Durojaiye Olalekan and Public Relations Officer, PRO, LASU Students Union, Comrade Olateju Azeez, the Lagos State Government ordered the arrest of their union leaders at the Lagos State Assembly, Thursday November 17, 2011. It it ios truen, then what happened was little short of betrayal by the powers that be. According to Azeez, the lawmakers had called the body of student leaders on phone, ostensibly to thrash out the conflict and come to an agreement.

However, when they got to the rendezvous, it was to be threatened. The Government promised them they would come back to them. The student leaders consequently returned to their campus only to see armed-to-the-teeth mobile policemen, brimming with fury approach them. They had therefore to begin a rapid dialogue with their feet.

In a reaction from LASU, Mrs Antonia Oyeniji, Head of Information , confirmed that the fees increase would take effect from 2011/2012 Academic Session, as approved by the Lagos State Government.

Questioned further, she disclosed that she was not aware of any plan to reduce the fees, affirming that the campus was in every way calm and peaceful and that students would resume by 5 December.