UNILORITES seek reintroduction of mass transit buses on varsity route
A cross section of members of the University of Ilorin community has appealed to the Kwara State Government to consider the reintroduction of mass transit service to the University route.
This appeal was made by concerned staff and students of the University who spoke to UNILORIN BULLETIN on the challenges of transportation they have been facing since the resumption of full activities at the University.
Mr Ahmed Yakub, a Quantity Surveyor at the University’s Works Department, said that the reintroduction of the service by the government would be a great relief to many staff and students of the University who come from the town every day.
He added that many of the staff members who have personal vehicles are finding it very difficult to maintain such because of the prevailing economic situations.
Mr Yakub added that such a transport support service is one of the benefits staff members of the University can derive from the government of Kwara State, which derived taxes from their salaries on monthly basis.
He also appealed to the Kwara State Government to prevail on the contractor handling the Tanke Flyover Bridge to complete and deliver the project on time so that the pain members of the University community go through on a daily basis could be minimised.
Also speaking, Mrs Biliqees Mojirayo Abdulganiyu of the University’s Centre for Open and Distance Learning, said that the Kwara State Government would be doing members of the University community a lot of favour if the transportation scheme otherwise called ‘‘ Soludero’’ is reintroduced.
She explained that the salaries of the University staff members can no longer take them home not to talk of students whose parents are also finding it difficult to survive the present economic hardship.
Mrs Abdulganiyu said that she was always disturbed seeing hundreds of students stranded on the road on their way to and from the campus every day.
On her part, Miss Boluwatife Bamidele, a student of the Department of Library and Information Science said that the appeal for the intervention of the Kwara State Government became necessary in view of the fact that a sizeable percentage of students of the University live outside the campus.
She added that the current situation has shown that the number of privately-owned commercial vehicles currently plying the University route are insufficient to meet the increasing needs of the students and staff of the University.
Miss Bamidele is not happy that most of the commercial vehicle shuttle between the campus and Oke-Odo, saying that they don’t get to Tanke before heading back to the campus.
Mrs Hajarat Gambari of the University Health Services, on her part, enjoined well-to-do individuals to consider investing in commercial transportation for the benefit of staff and students of the University.
Mrs Gambari also appealed to trade unions operating in the University to also consider investment in transportation business at the University for the sake of their members who face severe challenges on their way to and from the campus every day.
She noted that unions can purchase and maintain commercial vehicles that would be conveying their members and other interested UNILORITES to and from the campus on a daily basis, saying that such can be run to also generate revenue.
Mr Felix Dare Afolabi of the Directorate of Corporate Affairs, on his part, appealed to the University’s management to reintroduce the transport welfare scheme for staff and students as it was done a few months back.
He suggested that the University can also charge a token for the operation and maintenance of the vehicles, saying that such a scheme would bring a lot of relief to members of the University community.
Speaking on the issue, the Sub-Dean, Student Affairs, Dr Muhammad Kabir Garba, said that the authorities of the University are not unaware of the challenges of transportation being faced by students of the University.
He explained that the University management is exploring all options towards alleviating the suffering of students in their daily movement to and from the campus.
Dr Garba, who teaches at the Department of Statistics, pointed out that the Student Affairs Unit at a meeting last Thursday (January 18, 2024) engaged transporters on the way out of the challenges as he stated that the problem would be adequately tackled.
He assured that everything worth doing shall be done to make transportation easier for students of the University.
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