Poor thinking

Ironically, First Lady Remi Tinubu’s donation of 80 compressed natural gas (CNG) buses and tricycles to Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) triggered a three-day lecture boycott by students over ongoing transportation issues.

The Students’ Union Government issued a statement declaring a 72-hour lecture boycott from Tuesday, April 14, to Thursday, April 16, 2026, noting that “all academic activities are to be suspended throughout this period.”

The university management sparked the crisis by excluding long-standing commercial transport operators from the new campus transportation framework.

The students’ union highlighted significant implementation gaps in the new arrangement, which have resulted in severe overcrowding, long wait times, and inadequate route coverage.

The union’s Secretary-General, Habeeb Oke, stated that the donated vehicles were insufficient to serve a population of over 35,000 students, alongside university staff, market traders, and visitors. He also criticised the hike in transport fares.

The students are demanding the provision of additional vehicles and the restoration of the previous transport arrangement. Specifically, they are calling for a hybrid model that reflects the actual movement needs of the campus and its surrounding communities.

Read Also: Four Nigerian startups selected for 10th Google Accelerator Africa cohort

“Further actions, such as a possible mass protest or march, shall be considered if the management fails to address the demands satisfactorily within this period,” the statement read.

University management initially framed the new system as a modernisation effort, asking for patience during what they termed a “teething period” of the transition. However, the students continued to complain about increasing hardship.  

Though the 72-hour lecture boycott has ended, and academic activities at the university officially resumed on April 17, the transportation problem remains unresolved. 

The union cited the “successful expiration” of the boycott and noted that they have entered into constructive negotiations with the university management.

The pressure remains on the administration to deliver a more efficient transportation system. The ultimate solution depends on whether management follows through on the promise of more buses and whether they are willing to let the “old” commercial drivers back onto the campus roads.

Instead of a monopoly by the new CNG fleet, a hybrid model, which is the students’ primary demand, would re-integrate previous commercial operators, including buses and motorcycles, alongside the donated vehicles. This will increase the number of available seats and reduce wait times.

Clearly, the 80 CNG vehicles simply cannot replace the capacity of the hundreds of commercial operators who served the campus before the transition.  There was poor thinking on the part of the university management.