There was pandemonium at the two campuses of the University of Abuja
located at Gwagwalada and Airport Road area of Nigeria’s federal capital
territory Abuja as students went on a rampage to protest the
non-accreditation of some of their courses.
The protest, which commenced at 6:00 AM, was started by Engineering
students. Many students soon joined in blocking the main gate of the
school to protest harsh conditions of education and general
mismanagement of the university by officials the students regard as
incompetent and irresponsible.
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Some students said the university is in poor condition as
inhabitants of the girls hostel lack of water supply which forces them
to fetch water from the boys hostel. Student leaders of the protest said
the school is also bedeviled with overpopulated classes, cancelled
lectures, lack of library facilities and lecture halls as well as the
refusal of the school authorities to allow for independent student union
elections.
The protests quickly spread as several students took to the street
just as some of their colleagues began sitting for their first semester
examinations, which ought to start on Monday.
The protest led to the cancellation of examination in various
classes slated for the day as lecturers and invigilators abandoned the
two campuses to safety.
The examination was meant for the school's regular students.
The grudge of the protesting students at the Engineering faculty was
the non-accreditation of their courses despite the assurance given to
them by the school authority.
The accreditation panel of the National University Commission had
recently refused to certify some of the courses being run by the
university.
Some of the courses are in the Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture and Sciences.
The Federal Ministry of Education had earlier promised to take some
of the students to other universities for the completion of their
courses because of the non-accreditation of their courses, but that had
not happened.
When it dawned on the students that the government and the school
officials were just fooling them, they embarked on the strike that
crippled the school today.
Carrying several placards with messages like, "Don't destroy our
future", "Stop deceiving us", "We want to graduate as engineers, not
technologists", the students vowed to continue with their actions on
Tuesday if the government does not act on their grievances.
It is not clear if the protesting students will allow their colleagues to sit for examinations slated for Tuesday.
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