OAU students clash over Jonathan’s visit, six injured

The aftermath of President Goodluck Jonathan’s visit to Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, Osun State last Friday has become ugly, leading to clashes between the students. No fewer than six students were injured when some of them clashed on Sunday evening.

Injured students...Photo credit: Punch/Sodiq Oyeleke

Even though some witnesses attribute it to a power tussle between the Student Union President, Ibikunle Isaac and the Vice President, Oladejo Olufunmi, the disagreement over what transpired amongst students of the institution during Jonathan’s visit remains at the centre.

Jonathan had attended a Yoruba summit organized by some Yoruba traditional leaders at the Oduduwa Hall of the university. The Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade and other prominent obas and Yoruba leaders and politicians were in attendance at the event where Jonathan was endorsed ahead of the 2015 elections.

Members of the Education Rights Campaign (ERC) had just concluded a meeting at the Students’ Union Building when a fight reportedly broke out amongst some union executive members, suspended students of the university, members of the Security Committee of the SU and ERC members.

According to Punch newspaper,

One of them, Tedy, was allegedly stabbed with a pointed object suspected to be a screw driver, while another student, David, was dealt a matchete cut on his head.
It was gathered that the door to the SU President Office, where some students hid, was broken while the occupants were thoroughly beaten.
The campus fracas took a dangerous dimension when students of the school engaged one another at the school gate with weapons.
The SU Vice-President, Funmi Oladejo, who spoke to the newspaper said the fight stemmed from President Jonathan’s  presence on the campus last Friday.

She said, “I was to have a meeting at the SUB yesterday (Sunday) around 6pm. On getting there, I met a student, Sanyaolu Oluwajuwon, inside the gutter, where he had been seriously beaten and I wondered what happened. After a while, the injured students went to show the injury to others and that enraged many students.

“Meanwhile, what started the fight, I heard, was that ERC were having its meeting when the President and the PRO passed through the place and saw them. He then called his boys to come, saying some people were having an opposition meeting at the SUB.

“After beating them up, they ran away except Teddy that waited. We later realised that those that ran to town went to hire cult members, who came with machetes.   We eventually caught four of them. Two were students and two were non-students.

When asked if the fight was connected to Jonathan’s visit, she responded, “As far as I am concern, that is to mess up the whole issue. They want to make it a partisan stuff and that is out of sense. Our unionism is known to be independent and non-partisan. So, the case of Jonathan’s visit was sardonic. They (Ibikunle’s faction) wanted to pay back the opposition that greeted Jonathan’s visit.”

According to the Public Relations Officer of OAU, Mr. Biodun Olarewaju, said it was a fight between two groups of students who disagreed with how students received President Jonathan.

It would be recalled that there were conflicting reports about the President’s reception by the students. The students reportedly booed Jonathan and it made headlines. The student Union president however released a statement describing the reports as false.

He however “condemned the attitude of some individuals who portrayed themselves as elements of frustration and cheap political tools”.

According to his statement,

The leadership of the Students’ Union is appreciative of the listening character of the President as well as the efforts of individuals who facilitated the meeting with the President. It is imperative at this point to relay the product of the discussion with the President. The Speaker of the SRC addressed the President and submitted the protest letter which he personally received and gave assurances that the major issue in the letter – increment in fees is going to be addressed holistically in no long time as there are other schools that are affected. He committed himself to address welfare issues that affect OAU specifically.

Although some self-centered and politically-sponsored individuals attempted to unleash their demonic resolutions to deter and dissuade the union leaders from making pressing demands that will enhance the welfare of Great Ife students on campus, to make necessary demands for the reversal of fees and the reinstatement of some of our suspended students from the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. On his way out, the president stepped out to the cheers of the students, receiving a lot of applause from the entirety of Great Ife students and commuters having heard that he had committed himself on the increment.