A place of residence is one of the major factors that contribute to the academic excellence of University students. This is not an exception for Obafemi Awolowo University students because everyone resides in one place or the other. While some students reside in the school hostels on campus, the majority stay off campus. For those staying off campus, the Obafemi Awolowo University can be accessed through the entrances at Road 1, and Road 7 as well as the Phase 1 and Phase 2 gates at Obafemi Awolowo Teaching Hospitals Complex depending on where they live.
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While the infamous ‘Town Gboro’ buses and OAU commercial motorcycles ply Road 1, only campus shuttles, private vehicles and other authorized vehicles are allowed to ply Road 7. Although there is a shuttle park opposite the Faculty of Pharmacy for commuters of Road 7 and OAUTHC on campus, there is also another park at the Phase 2 gate of OAUTHC for OAUTHC commuters.
However, the residents of Road 7 still have a whole lot of tales to tell from lack of access to a proper transport system compared to the ones being enjoyed by those plying Road 1, to the stress involved in the process of juggling all of these with academic workload.
Students Share Ordeal
Ogunlana Klistivivi, a medical student who resides in Gloryland explained that the process of trying to get to campus is ‘sometimes strenuous’. He said, ‘On weekdays, the afternoons are usually a very long unfriendly queue under the sun to wait for the shuttle. Only early mornings are easy’. The shuttles operate every weekday till about 7:00 pm.
He further explained that the final destination of the shuttle is Phase 2 at the OAUTHC. The first bus stop is Road 7, Gloryland then Phase 2, OAUTHC. He said, ‘If the shuttle does not drop off all of the passengers at Road 7, then it is bound to get to Phase 2’. This implies that most times, the shuttles may get filled up on their way back as the shuttle carries 4 passengers at a time.
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Klistivivi stated, ‘There are times I have to walk down to Phase 2 to be able to get a shuttle or I just flap down a vehicle that is coming to campus’. ‘This is always easy in the morning because lecturers are always coming to campus but it becomes an arduous task in the afternoons and evenings’, he said.
Omisore Kehinde, a Pharmacy student explained that ‘Going in and out is so stressful and time-consuming’. She explained that she has to wait for several minutes and at times more than an hour for someone to give her a lift. She said, ‘If we want to be taking the shuttle, it not going to be easy for us and our parents, cause if we are to calculate #200 to and fro for a semester, it is a lot’. She stated that there are quite many expenses and as such, considering staying off campus will be another form of expense as houses off campus are high.
She further stated that ‘Some of us that wish to attend night classes and tutorials, night reading, have been finding it difficult’. Kehinde said she has to sleep on campus overnight sometimes because of SER classes. She explained that the class starts at exactly 8 am and the Lecturer detests lateness and she does not want to miss any of her exercises or class tests.
Mercy, a postgraduate student of Architecture, stated that ‘transportation towards Phase 2 has not been cool because people have to queue for the shuttles’. She mentioned that it always takes a long time before people get into the shuttles because most times, the shuttles are always in Phase 2 waiting to pick up passengers and they come back to campus one by one.
She said, ‘Coming through town costs more’. As such, people who have appointments have to wake up early to catch a shuttle. She further stated that in the past, people responded positively to carpooling, but at the moment, ‘probably because of the security situation and fuel’, it has reduced.
At the time of the interview, Mercy stated that she was heading towards Phase 2 and had already spent 15 minutes waiting for a ride.
Paul Oluwabiyi, a 400-level student of Civil Engineering, said that there are times when the shuttles will be on campus here, and at other times at Phase 2. He explained that there are times when he has to wait for about an hour before he can get a shuttle.
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Paul stated that he has been plying the Road 7 route since his part 1 days. He stated that during ‘rush hours’, there will be a whole lot of people to be picked up on campus and only a few to be picked up at Phase 2. This happens in the afternoon, and it is always the opposite in the mornings as more people need to be conveyed to campus. When this occurs, there is always a delay. ‘The rush hours are every day from about 7:00 am to 11:00 am sometimes, and in the afternoons too’, he said.
Hamilton Pleasant, the 2021/2022 best graduating female student from the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering in an interview conducted by the department editorial expressed that residing in Road 7 was challenging. ‘I stayed in Road 7 so commuting to campus was a bit of unnecessary hassle which the school can honestly do better’, she said.
Shuttle Drivers Lament
Mr Lukman, a shuttle driver, explained that the shuttles operate from Mondays to Saturdays, and a few sometimes work on Sundays. Most of the time, passengers are always waiting to flag down cars, so the drivers do not concentrate on them, he stated.
According to him, there are times when he has ‘so ọ lè’, meaning he has gone towards Phase 2 without carrying any passenger, but in the long run, he ran at a loss because he could not get anyone to carry. He stated that he lost his turn to carry passengers at the bus stop on Campus and also wasted fuel.
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He said, ‘Even as we claim that these vehicles save fuel, there is no way it would not consume about one and a half litres to and fro’. He made it clear that there would be a shortage if one decided to go ‘passenger hunting’ and come back with four passengers. Just ₦800 will be made from the whole trip, and the driver will run at a loss.
He further stressed that it is not a commercial area but a student area where everyone has a set time to get to wherever they are headed. The only time the drivers get to operate is in the morning and evening. He said, ‘We just have to keep managing ourselves’. There are still some bus drivers that go ‘passenger hunting’ sometimes to be able to convey passengers to campus. He also stated that if it is possible to have four passengers in the backseat and one at the front, the drivers will gain, even if it is in the smallest way.
Students’ Union Interventions
Over the years, several plans have been rolled out by the Students’ Union to address the issue faced by residents of Road 7 and its environs. In an interview conducted by ACJOAU with the 2021/2022 Students’ Union President, Olayiwola Folahan popularly known as Reform, he explained that transportation was his main issue, especially for the Road 7 residents. He stated that the solution that was being proposed was to bring a bus that would be able to transport them at a lesser price in the morning and the evening. However, the administration was unable to bring this idea to life
The present administration introduced the Union Shuttle Initiative in conjunction with Uniconne. The Union shuttle, after a week of operating, expanded its operation towards Damico and Road 7. The transport fare to and fro Road 7 and campus was pegged at ₦100. However good this initiative must have been, it has ceased to operate at the time of filing this report.