Staying Off-campus (II): Despite SU’s price control policy, students in Ajibode are still being overcharged by bus drivers

Tijani Abdulkabeer & Oyedokun Agnes
One Monday morning, Oyeyinka Oyekola, a 200 level student in the Faculty of Arts had to pay the N100 transport fare at the Ajibode bus park to get to school. His explanation to the bus driver that the new transportation policy says that students (living in Ajibode) like him are not supposed to pay more than N50 for a ride from the Ajibode bus park, were waved aside as the driver snapped at him.
Oyeyinka said that although the driver was aware of the policy, he was not ready to hear him out. “He insisted that I pay N100 or get out of his bus but I had a 7am class to attend, so I just had to pay the hiked fare.”
Just the day before that, he had complained to one of his colleagues about the extra burden of transportation cost of going to classes.
Oyeyinka’s case is not rare. Kolapo*, a student of Political Science who also resides at Ajibode said that the Union’s new policy on transportation has not been effective. Kolapo said he was happy when he saw the memo but he soon got disillusioned, as the drivers have not been adhering to the new regulations.
“Each ride to and fro school has been N100. Well, some students do try to argue. [But most of the time] It would cause an uproar between them and the driver. In short, those drivers are not ready to abide by that directive,” he said disappointedly.
For Adebowale Kolawole, an undergraduate student of Law, said he was not even aware of the new transportation policy until a particular day when “a fellow student was snapped at by a driver for trying to remind them of the policy.” “I have since stopped talking about it. I just give them N100 and go my way.”
The Background Story
Following resumption after the eight-month strike, the Students’ Union through the transportation committee released a memo on the new transportation policy on campus.
As it was stated in the memo, students are no longer expected to pay more than N50 for Keke and Bus when riding with other passengers, while keke drop & car drop had been pegged at N150 and N200 respectively, regardless of the distance or luggage.
This new policy also made provisions to one of the challenges that students of the university who reside at the Ajibode community face.
“For students in Ajibode, the fare will now be #100 but the price still remains #50 for only students of the University of Ibadan with valid means of identification whatsoever,” the memo reads in part.
That is not all. The memo also instructed students to report erring drivers to the union for proper prosecution. However, several weeks after the memo was released, testimonies of students who reside in Ajibode show that the new policy is yet to be effective.
Each of these students complained about the cost of attending classes, including Saturdays when some of them attend tutorials in school. For instance, N200 per day (to and fro) means by Saturday, most of them would have spent N1200 on transportation and this would not have been the case if the new policy was implemented.
The Students’ Union and Transportation Committee’s Stand Differ
The Transportation Committee Chairman, Daniel Ajiboye, in an interview with one of these reporters blamed the lack of implementation on bureaucratic bottlenecks in the university system. He said his efforts to set up a meeting with the drivers in order to reach a consensus, has been futile.
“Now, it feels like I cannot particularly do anything about it. Because the hierarchy system is so long and we are in Nigeria, we have to also consider the cultural implications. Ultimately, I proposed alongside the Students’ Union executives, but they have not given us the direct go-ahead to implement it,” he said.
When asked why the memo had not been revoked since it could not be implemented, he noted that he had spoken to the Union executives on the need to send out a ‘special release’ addressing the issue but he was yet to get a response.
“But on addressing the memo, I have told the union personally that they should drop another memo. I have had multiple meetings with them and told them this is what can work but on this note, I have not gotten feedback and it is getting too long. Now, it is more or less like it is not in my power anymore,” he explained.
However, the Students’ Union President, Adewole Mascot said otherwise. He explained that he recently met with the chairman of the transport unit about the issue and the decision still stands.
He said: “Like five days ago, I still met with the chairman and he told me that the decision still stands because it was not the decision of the Students’ Union. We made it in conjunction with the chairmen [both Keke & Bus].
“The agreement [Memo] was signed through the office of the House Secretary. We understand that the price of stuff has increased but that does not mean we should not uphold our agreement,” he maintained.
These reporters also reached out to the transport unit chairman, Mr. Joseph Temitope who, like the SU President, also maintained that students in Ajibode are not supposed to pay more than N50 upon identifying themselves as students.
“It’s N50 if [once] you identify with your ID card. If they (students) show the drivers their ID cards and they give N50 but they refuse, tell them to take their money away, snap their plate numbers and send it to me. That was what we agreed on. We give students preference. It’s N100 for only outsiders,’’ he emphasized.
Recall that UCJUI had reported earlier this year on the transportation challenges faced by students who reside in Ajibode. Their plight has been compounded with a hike in fare.
Editor’s note: A name was changed in the report at the request of the source.