The management of the prestigious University of Lagos has been creating different types of policy since the new administration which is hell-bent on making sure the education sector is being commercialized by all means.
There has been an increase in the price of school fees across public tertiary institutions in Nigeria since President Bola Ahamed Tinubu was sworn in on May 29th, 2023.
As we plan to commercialize the education sector, we must not forget that countries like Germany, Sweden, Finland, etc offer free education at tertiary institutions even to International students. Nigeria has all it takes to fund education.

On October 7th 2022, Professor Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, FAS was appointed as the 13th Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG).
Madam VC, As students of UNILAG, All of us were happy at your appointment as the first female vice-chancellor of the University of Lagos, I hope you will feel the students' pains as a mother but it appears that Mama VC is not seeing the students as her children.
As students, We expect you to be there for us as a mother.

The management of the University of Lagos relies on federal government policy to commercialize the education sector to hike the price of school fees from 15,000 to over 190,000 because it is time for the university to probably cash out or make excess profit from the innocent students.
The price of school fees was jacked up without considering the economic state of the nation, and even the university that should have the interest of the students at heart has dashed the hope of many poor students.
After a series of protests and public outcry the management of the university slightly reduced the hike fees, an average undergraduate of UNILAG is now expected to pay over N140,000 in school and accommodation fees as against N40,000.


The university management and federal government have given a proposed student loan scheme as a basis for increasing the school fees.
Madam Vice Chancellor Ma, where is the student loan? As indigent students of the university, we have no means or hope of paying the fees without getting the loan, this is why most people were begging the management to reverse the fee hike.
I urge the university management to consider extending the school fees payment until the students can access student loans or suspending the academic resumption stated for next week as most students have no means of getting the school fees not to talk of balloting for the hostel.
The university should wait until the federal government starts implementing the student loan or suspend the school fee payment until the student loan kick starts.
The university management will commit injustice to poor students if they go ahead with a plan of academic activities without considering how students who ordinarily struggle to pay the school fees of N15,000 will raise over N190,000 per session.

The university issues an identity card in the first year of a student and the identity card is expected to last the student 4 or 5 years depending on the course of study.
The university only issues the identity card once and only reissues it at the request of students with a fee attached to it.
The payment of N5,000 per session for an identity card is questionable, the identity card is not a recurring expenditure by the university.
The university management is not economical and realistic for charging N5,000 per session for a school identity card that will not be issued every session. Maybe the university management needs to explain to the public why they charge as high as N5,000 for an identity card. The university should remove the identity card as a recurring expenditure on non-fresher undergraduate obligation fees to reduce the hike fee.


The university asked indigent students to come and put down their names with Dr Obalola, Dean of Students Affairs (DSA), The university assumes that all the students of the University of Lagos reside in Lagos, some students stay as far as the northern part of Nigeria and cost of transportation to Lagos is so ridiculous due to effect of fuel subsidy removal.
Save UNILAG Students; why can't the university allow indigent students to register online with their matric number without further making them incur another avoidable cost just because they are indigent students?
I want to appeal to the university to allow indigent students to put their names with the dean of student affairs after the university has commenced academic sessions so that those students who are not residents in Lagos can have the opportunity to register themselves as an indigent student because we must not allow any student to drop out due to the hike school fees.
We need to also be realistic. The university should also make provisions for students who will become indigent due to some unknown future economic or social reason(s).

Madam Vice Chancellor Ma, over the past 6 years, the university has not been able to reinstate the Student Union Government (SUG). The Student Union Government (SUG) is an important organization for students in the university.
It is a global practice to have student union governments in universities.
Even during the military era in Nigeria, Versities student union governments were never suspended after any military intervention.
Madam Vice Chancellor, the university is universal and we must act universally. You have promised to reinstate the students' union, I urge the VC to hasten the union's reinstatement.


University of Lagos management should desist from creating policies that are not student-friendly. The student's well-being should be at the centre of every decision of the university management.
I commend the school management for reversing the recent hostel policy that asked students to come with their mattresses to the school hostel.


Madam Vice Chancellor ma, The Chief of Staff of the President and Former Speaker Rt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila has constructed a new hostel facility within the school, the university authority should on behalf of the students appeal to the Chief of Staff of President Tinubu to allow indigent students of the university of Lagos to use the hostel for free considering the untold economic hardship on poor students by the current administration.
Femi Gbajabiamila was the man who sponsored the student loan bill, he understood the value of education and the rate of poverty in Nigeria, I am sure the chief of staff to the president will be willing to donate the new hostels to poor students as a way of giving back to his alma mater.


Madam Vice Chancellor, Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today, these are the words of Malcolm X.
The students are the future of this great nation, The university management should persuade the Federal Government to invest in the education sector.
This is the time the students need the UNILAG Alumni Association to support the students and the university at large.


Madam Vice Chancellor ma, your major responsibility is to ensure that no students drop out as a result of the fee hike, you assured the students but we can only hope you will work on your assurance.
"No UNILAG students will drop out if they come to us because we have taken care of that. We recognize that we have indigent students, and we have always had them. That is why we talked about the indigent package. None of them will drop out if they see the DSA, They will be taken care of."
Madam Vice Chancellor ma, These are your words on live broadcast. History will hold you accountable for your words and actions.

Ikugbadi Segun
Ikugbadisegun@yahoo.com