Students of the Obafemi Awolowo
University,Ile Ife,yesterday booed President Goodluck Jonathan and his
entourage during a visit to the campus to meet with Yoruba leaders
ahead of next year’s elections.
The placard-carrying students
protested the Jonathan Administration’s handling of education in the
country and called for an immediate end to what they called the rot in
the sector.
They were particularly incensed by the
security measures put in place for the President’s visit which
restricted vehicular movement in and out of the campus.
In effect shuttle buses which most
students ride between the main gate and the campus were unable to
operate and the students were thus forced to walk long distances ,some
to their exam halls.
Some of the protesters’ placards
read:“We Condemn Jos Killing of Students”; “Students Are Not Chicken”;
“Don’t Sell Education As You Sold Electricity”; “We Demand Total
Reversal of 2014 Hiked School Fees”; and “We are Not Responsible For
Jonathan’s Ineptitude”.
The students also blocked the road
leading to the school’s sports centre where a Nigerian Air Force
NAF-280 was waiting to carry the President from the campus.
They asked him to address them before leaving.
The students also booed Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State who sought to pacify them.
The governor had alighted from his car and walked up to the students with a view to addressing them.
What he got from the students was a snub and shouts of unprintable expletives.
His security details reading the unfolding drama quickly shoved him into his car and drove him away from the scene.
Some traditional rulers also beat a retreat to save themselves from embarrassment by the students.
Hundreds of PDP supporters, who had
swooped on the OAU campus with different banners to welcome President
Jonathan wore long faces.
Addressing the Yoruba Unity Summit
earlier at the Oduduwa Hall of the institution,President Jonathan
pledged that he would take proper care of the Yoruba if re-elected in
2015.
He described the South West as a key part of Nigeria which his administration must work with.
He also promised that the recommendations of the recently conducted National Conference would be implemented.
He said: “the contribution of the Yoruba
people to nation building is so enormous to be ignored. So, all parts
of the country must work together in love, unity and understanding to
overcome all the challenges facing us.”
Appreciating the elders and the
traditional rulers in the Southwest for their support for his government
since inception, President Jonathan promised equal treatment for all
geopolitical zones in the country.
Delivering a paper entitled “Unity of
Yoruba Nation,” former Transport Minister , Chief Ebenezer Babatope,
said that the political progress made by the President, with his
ascension to the number one position in the country was not a mistake.
He assured Jonathan of the support of the Yoruba in 2015, saying the South West would not want to be deprived its position.
In their goodwill messages,the Orangun
of Oke-Ila,Oba Adedokun Abolarin, Chief Olu Falae, Ekiti State Governor
Ayodele Fayose, Mrs. Mulikat Akande Adeola and Senator Femi Okunrounmu
advised Mr. President not to be distracted by comments and actions of
some people against his administration.
In attendance at the summit were the
Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle
Aromolaran, academics, captains of industries, and chieftains of the
Peoples Democratic Party among others.
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