Adio Aisha and Daniel Ojukwu
On January 18, 2021, tertiary institutions in Nigeria opened their doors to students after a three-phase lockdown period as part of efforts to battle the novel coronavirus that introduced the COVID-19 disease.
Prior to this, there had been efforts by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 to contain the over 110,000 confirmed cases and over 1,400 deaths in the country, with measures which included a total lockdown of the country, restriction on air travel, inter-state travel restriction, nightlife ban, curfew, public gathering capacity review, public transportation capacity adjustment, among others.
Having promised in October, 2020, to not shut down the country again, the PTF, led by Boss Mustapha, granted schools permission to reopen, with a guideline to ensure the disease and virus are kept away from students and staff alike. Among these guidelines were that social distancing be maintained where possible, regular checks be made at various entry points, face masks be employed alongside regular sanitization and other steps be carried out to curb the spread of the disease.
As institutions in the country eased into the new normal, 1,617 cases of the disease were recorded on the opening day, however, University of Ilorin (Unilorin) – a federal institution – took a delayed approach to its reopening. It had a more gradual reopening process which involved students at various levels resuming at different dates as directed by the management.
On face value, this appeared to be a good strategy, but implementation would prove to be the Achilles heel as students across all levels trooped into campus for all manner of activities within the varsity’s first week of resumption.
Prior to this, though, the institution had colluded with the transport service students patronize, to violate a key guideline in the guise of catering for the welfare of students. The tricycle and four-wheeler transport service, localized as ‘keke’ and ‘korope’ had operated at a rate of N30 and N80 respectively at full capacity prior to the COVID-19, but the restriction on capacity, coupled with a rising price of Premium Motor Spirit, forced the transport union to revise its prices and consider an increase to N50 and N100 respectively, with the Korope service going as high as N150.
It is important to mention that the university is located a reasonable distance away from residential areas, and students are better off boarding the available transport service than trekking the distance.
The transport service conveyed students from the school park to a bus/stop referred to as ‘terminus’ – some 7km away from campus – but students could alight at various stops along the way.
– The N20 Reduction –
On the collusion, Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. Lanre Ajibade; Students Union President, Wisdom Okoko; Representatives of the transport union and other stakeholders, held meetings prior to resumption to reduce the cost from N50 (keke) and N100 (korope) back to N30 (keke) and N80 (korope).
Alongside the SAU, we last week met with the leadership of the KOROPE and KEKE with discussions around PRICE and COVID-19 protocols in transportation. More details to come in shortly, WeMove✊🏽. StudentFirstLeadership💖. @DavidTitiloye @intellect4all @Viktor4all @MFTeemah pic.twitter.com/XAGuIGvTaH
— PASSION (@wisdom_okoko) January 24, 2021