VIDEO: Long queues as OAU students lament transportation challenges

Students at Obafemi Awolobi University (OAU) are facing severe transportation challenges, characterized by extensive queues and prolonged delays, following the management's recent implementation of compressed natural gas (CNG) powered vehicles. This situation has arisen despite a previous 72-hour lecture boycott by the Students' Union aimed at addressing existing transportation issues.

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This is the worst transport situation I’ve seen in the last decade. Students are queuing as far as Mayfair, literally.

The introduction of 80 CNG buses and tricycles, a donation intended to improve mobility, has inadvertently created new problems. The restriction of all intra-campus transport to these new vehicles has led to overwhelming demand. Videos circulating online depict students queuing for extended periods, with some waiting since early morning for classes scheduled just hours later. This inefficiency is causing significant distress, with students expressing fears that it is actively hindering their academic progress and setting them up for failure.

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You introduced a new transport system but forgot the most important thing ‘enough buses’. I’ve been on the queue since 7:30am for an 8am class; it’s 8:30 and I’m still on the queue. What exactly are we paying for? This isn’t inconvenience, it’s setting students up to fail.

Student reactions on social media highlight the frustration. Many feel the rollout was poorly planned, with an insufficient number of vehicles to serve the university's population of over 35,000 students. The Students' Union Government has called for the provision of more buses and the reinstatement of the previous transport system until improvements are made. They also stressed the need for greater consultation with student leaders before such policy changes are implemented. The union acknowledges the First Lady's intervention but insists that operational gaps, particularly the inadequate fleet size and poor planning, are the root causes of the current crisis, warning that further protests may be necessary if the issues are not addressed.

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OAU students are suffering. The 72-hour lecture boycott by the students’ union yielded no results. We had a very efficient transport system, and now we are forced… to enter CNG buses and motorcycles, which have proven to be very inefficient.