Fresh students at the University of Ibadan have kicked against a recent school fee hike.
Seun (not real name), one of the affected students, told FIJ the development threatened his chances of getting a university education.
“I believe that the proposed incremease in school fees is unjust and can hinder the educational pursuits of many deserving students,” said Seun.
FIJ learned that fresh students joining the school’s 2023/2024 academic session are to pay between N203,000 and N412,000. According to the university’s student union, this increment represents about 450–750 percent of the previous fees.
When the University of Ibadan released its admission list for the 2023/2024 academic session some months ago, Seun’s joy knew no bounds. He was excited to have been offered provisional admission to study chemistry at Nigeria’s premier university.
However, he logged in to his student portal and was welcomed by a surprise on Wednesday. The fresh student, who had thought he would pay a little over N100,000 in his first year, discovered he would pay N278,500.
The joy he felt when he learned he had gained admission started waning. Seun comes from a family of five. His mother is a small-scale trader, while his father works as a tricycle rider.
“Not coming from a rich home is a big problem. The country’s economy is not smiling at us, and my parents cannot afford to pay such an amount with the little money they see,” Seun told FIJ.
“If the university management does not reduce the fee, I don’t think I can attend school this year or in the next two years. I may have to say goodbye to education.”
‘MY PARENTS STILL THINK IT IS A JOKE’ Ruth (not real name), another fresh student unhappy about the increment, told FIJ that her parents thought the university management was joking when they heard the news.
“Everyone is shocked and disturbed by the increment. My parents still think they are joking. They don’t believe it yet and have been complaining about it. The increase is too much,” said Ruth.
“The school should pity our parents who are struggling. Some students are the ones sponsoring themselves. Where does UI expect them to get that amount of money?
“UI is not a private or state university. It is a federal university, so school fees should be affordable. Even if there is a hike, it should not be this much. I request that UI consider us and our parents and reduce the school fees.”
Ruth is optimistic that her parents can afford her school fees. “We will surely be able to afford it by God’s grace,” she told FIJ.
Some returning students are nursing the fear that the management would also increase their school fees.
“It is possible that they also increase the school fees for returning students. Talks about an increment have been on for a while,” a student of UI who pleaded anonymity told FIJ.
STUDENTS’ UNION REACTS
The university’s student union condemned the increment in a press release obtained by FIJ, signed by Samson Tobiloba, the president of the university’s student union, and Olaniyi Sodeeq Dolapo, the union’s general secretary.
“We note with concerns that this increment represents about 450-750% of the previous bundle fee, ranging from N20,000 to 30,000. This is coming at a period when several students are finding it hard to cope with the current fee regime and the increased cost of living in the country,” part of the statement reads.
“The union condemns this increment in strong terms and requests that this proposed increment be reverted to the status quo.
“We are equally requesting a meeting with the university management to resolve this issue.”
When FIJ called Tobiloba on Sunday, he said that the meeting was yet to be held.
“We are still in the process, and the meeting has not been held. We are hoping that it will be held on Monday,” said Tobiloba.
Nursepepeye: go school you no gree, see how you are here disgracing your family here, America and Isreal have defense system that detect any threats towards it, weather it's notify or not. Do you even know what is called air defense system? For where, let such fire to Iran and let's see if they can intercept it, see how all thier useless efforts over many decades was disabled and tendered useless.
air defense system has limitation, it can be overwhelmed with numerous missiles as well
obedience4: You think you we live in the stone Age abi, The USA navy fifth fleet is headquarters in the middle East in Bahrain, The British RAF base is Oman, The USA forward operating base FOB is in Jordan The USA marine base is in king sultan air force base in Saudi Arabia. The USA have a radar station in isreal The USA have bases in Iraq They are over 7 USA ship's in the. Persia and red sea The USA have satellite in the middle East
So you believe that Iran will launch over 400 drones and missiles and they will fly undetected and surprise Isreal. The moment those missiles and drones left the ground they were tracked.
Also a drone that takes 8 hours to reach isreal will surprise one of the most technological advance military In the middle East
Also to correct you, Iran claims to have hypersonic missile, they haven't been used in battle,only Russia is know to have and use such missiles in battle
The truth is this, you are only surprise at the capabilities of the USA and it's allies ability destroy such a large scale attacks with out much destruction.
forget my brother, how many missiles can they intercept, do you know how much it cost USA and allies last week defending Israel
Righteousness2: Ok. I just dont want to see you jumping up and down and Crying as usual when ISRAEL strikes . If i see you crying anywhere after Israel replies Iran , i will use Bible to Flog you.
This was a message, not an attack, they knew most of the drones will be intercepted
Iran has been saying it for two weeks that they would retaliate, they also informed turkey 72 hours before the attack, turkey is a NATO country
If their intention was to cause maximum damage, they would have launched a surprise attack without informing anybody using hypersonic and ballistic missiles which are much more deadlier and they travel faster than cruise missiles and drones.
By broadcasting everything, it gave USA, Israel and allies ample of time to get their fighter jets into the air to intercept those missiles
Israel will never inform you if they want to strike, the reason most of their attacks are always successful
The message is look, we are not afraid of you and we can hit you as well
Military estimates rocket carried a 500-kilogram warhead; spokesperson says that when Iran fired at Israel it knew it would be a ‘dangerous escalation’
The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday showed reporters the remains of a ballistic missile that was intercepted over Israel in the Iranian attack on the country early Sunday.
According to the IDF, the Emad missile had an estimated 500-kilogram (1,100-lb.) warhead.
Only the fuel tank of the missile was recovered, as the warhead and engine were destroyed during its interception by the long-range Arrow air defense system.
The remains of the missile’s fuel tank are just 70 percent of the entire projectile. It was 11 meters (36 feet) long.
The massive missile, one of 120 ballistic missiles fired at Israel, was found on Sunday morning floating in the Dead Sea.
It had flown more than 1,500 kilometers from Iran to Israel in around 12 minutes
He declined to give a timeframe for Israel’s response.
Posting on the social media platform X, IDF spokesman Peter Lerner noted that images of the rocket section floating in the Dead Sea had been shared on the internet soon after the attack.
“When I first saw images on Sunday circulating on social media I thought they were fake,” he wrote. “There is nothing fake about this, or the threat it posed.”
Presenting the remains of the missile to foreign media on Tuesday, IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said: “Iran knew that when she was firing over 110 ballistic missiles besides the cruise missiles, the rockets, the drones — firing 110 ballistic missiles is an escalation to the region… a dangerous escalation.”
“We will respond the way that we will choose at the time that we will choose,” Hagari said, speaking in English. “We don’t just have defensive capabilities — that were proven on Saturday night — We have offensive capabilities. We will know what to do and when to do and how to do.”
Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack at Israel on Saturday night and early Sunday in retaliation for an April 1 strike on a building in its embassy compound in Syria that it blames on Israel, in which several commanders of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed.
Most of the projectiles were intercepted before they reached Israel, with the help of the US, Jordan, and other allies, and the sole injury was a Bedouin girl, who was struck and seriously wounded by falling shrapnel in the Negev desert. The IAF’s southern Nevatim base suffered minor damage to infrastructure, the IDF said, but continued to function during the attack.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday Iran had fired 500 ballistic and cruise missiles as well as attack drones in its barrage on the country, clarifying an earlier IDF tally of over 300.
He said just four ballistic missiles made it through defenses, and none of the cruise missiles or drones.
Iran’s missile and drone attack on the country earlier this week “failed” and “they will fail to deter Israel,” Gallant said to troops in northern Israel.
“The Iranians will not be able to implement a different equation of deterrence against the State of Israel,” he said. “The Air Force planes are operating everywhere, the skies of the Middle East are open. Any enemy that will fight against us, we will know how to hit it wherever they are.”
US and European allies have been pressing Israel to refrain from hitting back at Iran militarily while promising to levy tough sanctions on Tehran’s ability to sell oil and build attack drones.
Western powers fear an Israeli retaliation could plunge the region into a wider war that could draw them in while further eroding international support for Jerusalem
Israeli War Cabinet Says No Going Back On Attack On Iran In 'Clear And Decisive' Manner
Despite international pressure and calls for restraint amid fears of an escalation of conflict in the Middle East, the Israeli war cabinet and forces have vowed to respond to Iran's aggression attack in what they tagged a “clear and decisive” manner.
The Israeli cabinet, according to Reuters’s report, said that they awaited word on how Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, would respond to Iran's first-ever direct attack.
A government source reportedly said that Netanyahu on Monday summoned his war cabinet for the second time in less than 24 hours after Iran's attack, to weigh a response to the massive weekend missile and drone attack.
It was gathered that while the attack caused no deaths and little damage, following the intervention of the air defences and countermeasures of Israel and its allies, the attack has increased concerns that violence rooted in the Gaza war in Palestine is spreading, and there is fear of open war between the two countries that have been long-time enemies.
Reuters reports that Israeli military chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, on Monday said that "This launch of so many missiles, cruise missiles and drones into Israeli territory will be met with a response" but gave no further details.
Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, told state TV on Monday night that Tehran's response to any Israeli retaliation would come in "a matter of seconds, as Iran will not wait for another 12 days to respond".
However, the prospect of Israeli retaliation has reportedly alarmed many Iranians already enduring economic pain and tighter social and political controls since protests in 2022-2023.
It was believed that Iran launched the attack on Israel in retaliation for an airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 attributed to Israel, and signalled that it did not seek further escalation.
Meanwhile, the U.S. President, Joe Biden, told Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu at the weekend that the United States, which helped Israel blunt the Iranian attack, would not participate in an Israeli counter-strike.
Recall that since the war in Gaza began in October, clashes have erupted between Israel and Iran-aligned groups based in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.
Israel said that four of its soldiers were wounded hundreds of metres inside Lebanese territory overnight, the first known Israeli ground penetration into Lebanon since the Gaza war erupted, although it has traded fire with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
The European Union's foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, was quoted as telling Spanish radio station Onda Cero that, "We're on the edge of the cliff and we have to move away from it."
French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron made similar appeals. Washington and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also have called for restraint.
However, the White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, on Monday refused to say if Biden had urged Netanyahu in talks on Saturday night to exercise restraint in responding to Iran.
[b]Kirby said, "We don't want to see a war with Iran. We don't want to see a regional conflict," adding that it was for Israel to decide "whether and how they'll respond".
Israel should avoid further escalation that will lead to a wider conflict, they should not retaliate because they started it, the unprovoked attack on Iran's consulate in Syria is against international law.
Hundreds of protesters have taken to the streets of Niger’s capital to demand the departure of United States troops, after the military government further shifted its strategy by ending a military accord with the US and welcoming Russian military instructors.
Marching arm in arm through central Niamey on Saturday, the crowd waved Nigerien flags in a demonstration that recalled anti-French protests that spurred the withdrawal of France’s forces from Niger last year after the army seized power in a coup.
One hand-written sign in English read “USA rush out of Niger”, in a show of support for the military government and its decision in mid-March to revoke an accord that had allowed around 1,000 US military personnel to operate on its territory out of two bases.
We’re here to say no to the American base, we don’t want Americans on our soil,” protester Maria Saley told the Reuters news agency on the sidelines of the march.
The crowd was also heard chanting “Down with American imperialism” and “The people’s liberation is on the march.”
Until the coup, Niger had remained a key security partner of France and the US, which used it as a base as part of international efforts to curb a decade-old rebellion in West Africa’s Sahel region.
In March the country suspended its military agreement with the US. The US military had some 650 personnel working in Niger in December, according to a White House report to Congress. The US military operates a major airbase in the Niger city of Agadez, some 920km (572 miles) from Niamey, using it for manned and unmanned surveillance flights and other operations.
A drone base known as Air Base 201 near Agadez was also built at a cost of more than $100m. Since 2018 the base has been used to target ISIL (ISIS) fighters and Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimeen (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate, in the Sahel region.
Criminal trial of ex US president and the first ever, Mr trump keeps making history, your past will always catch up with you one day, so be careful people
This man is going to prison soon, here's a country where no one is above the law.
Republican Donald Trump arrived at a New York court Monday, an AFP reporter saw, kicking off a seismic moment in US history as he becomes the first former president to face criminal trial.
Dressed in his trademark red tie and dark blue suit, the scandal-plagued 77-year-old could earlier be seen waving as he left Trump Tower for the Manhattan Criminal Court, where he is accused of falsifying records to cover up an alleged sexual encounter with an adult film actress.
The Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, has been installed as the Chancellor of the 42-year-old, National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, by the Federal Government.
DAILY POST reports that the Benin monarch was decorated at the 13th Convocation and Investiture Ceremony of the university on Saturday in Abuja by the visitor of the institution President Bola Tinubu, where a total of 22,175 graduates bagged various degrees and merit awards.
President Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Sununu, urged the Benin monarch to improve the fortunes of the university towards achieving the core mandate of the 42-year-old institution.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Oba of Benin, Osaigbovo Iguobaro, made available to journalists in Benin City, said the royal father was also conferred with Honoris Causa, Doctor in Public Administration, of the university.
In his acceptance speech, Oba Ewuare II called on the Federal Government to consider robust funding for the university.
The monarch, also called on the government to be cautious about establishing universities with dual roles in ensuring that standards are upheld.
While promising to carry out his responsibility diligently, the new chancellor of the university appealed to the government to include NOUN graduates in the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC scheme by amending the act that established the institution.
The traditional ruler commended the university’s management for its commitment to service, which served as an inspiration to the university, where a total of 22,175 graduates bagged various degrees and merit awards.
Earlier, in his address, the Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Olufemi Peters, said the convocation marked a milestone for graduands at the event, which he said heralds a new era for those who seek knowledge regardless of their academic background.
In his address, President Bola Tinubu sued for cutting-edge multidisciplinary research that would benefit Nigerian citizens and Nigeria.
Tinubu assured that the Federal Government would continue to promote distance learning, noting that distance learning has been widened by the government to accommodate private sector involvement to create access and promote quality and affordability in the mode of tertiary education.
misreal: Everybody is doing what is best for their nation. But may what you are doing not atttact a nuclear war head, especially when you do not have a nuclear warhead.
which country doesn't have nuclear weapons?
You guys should stop underestimating Iran, whether they have nuclear weapons or not, Iran has a lot of conventional weapons that will decimate any country in the middle east
Remind me when Israel condemned at least one strike by the Kyiv regime on Russian regions,’ says Foreign Ministry spokeswoman
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman slammed the call of the Israeli ambassador to Moscow for condemning Iran’s overnight missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend.
“Simona (Halperin), remind me when Israel condemned at least one strike by the Kyiv regime on Russian regions? Don't remember? Me too,” Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Telegram on Sunday.
Zakharova went on to express that she recalls regular statements by Israeli officials in support of Kyiv's "actions" amid the Russia-Ukraine war, which entered its third year two months ago.
Earlier in the day, Halperin told the Russian state news agency RIA that Israel expected Moscow to condemn Iran's attack on Israel, and hoped it will oppose Tehran’s attempts to “destabilize the region.”
Commenting on the attack, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Moscow is “extremely concerned” about another “dangerous escalation” in the Middle East, calling on all parties involved to exercise restraint and voicing its hope that countries will resolve existing regional issues through political and diplomatic means.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Israel late on Saturday in response to the April 1 attack on the Iranian Consulate in Damascus.
The attack, which killed seven Iranian military officials, including a senior IRGC commander, drew sharp reactions from the Iranian government officials, who vowed a "decisive response."
According to some unconfirmed reports, the IRGC fired more than 300 drones and missiles in an attack that lasted several hours, many of which were intercepted by Israeli air defense systems.
However, IRGC commander Gen. Hossein Salami told reporters in Tehran on Sunday morning that the operation was successful more than they had expected.
Meanwhile, speculation is rife that Israel may decide to retaliate, which experts believe could trigger an all-out regional war.
Jennyclay: These are few mature men we still have in this country and I’m very sure the man is rich.
But you see all these broke poverty stricken good for nothing wretched men that can’t even afford to eat 3 square meals will be setting rubbish and nonsense standards for themselves
I want a virgin bla bla bla.. as if virgins would like to suffer with them.
Broke and nonsense men everywhere!!
A lady's past is important to a man just as the man's future is important to a woman.
You can't change it and you can't run away from reality, why do you think young men hustle so hard to stand well before starting a family when their female age mates are busy enjoying themselves?
Education › Re: University Of Ibadan Students Lament 450–750% Fee Hike by God1000(op): 5:55pm On Apr 17, 2024
