Practice APC Manifesto of Free Education, LASU Students Tell Fashola

LASU students sitting down in front of the gate

President of the Student Union Government, Lagos State University, Mr. Nurudeen Yusuf has said education should be free from primary to tertiary levels if Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State wants to practice what is in the manifesto of All Progressives Congress (APC).

He spoke while addressing his students who are now camping in front of the office of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola. The students have blocked the gates with buses, they are praying, singing, dancing and cooking beans in front of the governor’s office as they await response from the governor.

“It should start from Lagos State, which is the basis of the party. It was from Lagos State that the APC was established before going to other states. Governor Fashola should come out and tell us what we are supposed to pay. We cannot wait again. It is taken too long.

“Our school is shut down. Everything has turned upside down. Students are dropping from the university on a daily basis. We decided not to engage the party leaders because the people in government do not understand any language. The only language they understand is protest. They have been promising that they will get back to us soon and very soon. Any time can be soon. So, we do not want to engage the leaders of the APC”, he said .

He explained that the students have resolved to fight this struggle on their own. “We are a pressure group. We are a pressure group in the country. We can do this alone. We do not want any person to fight for us. We voted for Governor Fashola. We voted for all members of the State House of Assembly. As a result, we think he can help our situation.

“He has always promised us better rewarding future. How can we have a rewarding future without education? He has denied us good education. He has neglected the law that created LASU. We wanted to go to court. But we decided not to go to court because we need to resolve this issue. Governor Fashola has violated Section 3(1) of the law that established the institution. The section states that the university should be made available for all people irrespective of their socio-economic background and status. Now, the governor has made LASU the University of the Rich”, he said.

He added that students are not in a hurry to leave.
“We are not ready to leave here anytime soon until we hear something from the government. We have gone to Lagos Island. We have gone to Ojota. We were at Oshodi on Tuesday. The police shut live bullets at us. The police manhandled us and arrested some of our colleagues. That is why we decided to come here today and tell the governor what is on our minds. The police called use to come and secure the release of our colleague.

“Before their arrest, I told the police to arrest me instead of our colleagues. We are not deterred. We will not stop until we hear something from the government. If the governor refuses to come out, we will remain here until he comes out. If the governor can respond to issues that are less important than this, he should come out and respond to the students of the institution. The governor must come out and speak to us. We are ready to engage him”, he said..