The Campaign for Students’ and Youth Rights (CSYR) has called on the management of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, to reverse the 100 per cent increase in campus shuttle fares and withdraw transport tickets bearing the image of former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Wale Omole.
The group made the demands in a statement condemning the decision by the university management and Guesstimate Transport Services to increase the fare for the Gate-to-Students’ Union Building (SUB) route from ₦100 to ₦200, which has been in effect since October 1, 2026.
The CSYR described the increase as an additional burden on students already grappling with rising accommodation, food, tuition and transportation costs.
“The issue is not ₦100 or ₦200; it is who pays for the transport system’s failures and who bears the consequences of decisions made without democratic consultation,” the organisation said.
The group also criticised the printing of tickets featuring Omole, citing the controversy surrounding the July 10, 1999, killings of five OAU students during a cultists’ attack on Awolowo Hall. The incident took place at the time when Omole was the V.C.
It further questioned the educational value of the ticket design and challenged the argument that the portraits “educate students about past and present vice-chancellors” and printing new ₦100 tickets would be “a lot of work and cost more.”
According to CSYR, the ticket design disregards the memory of the students killed in the attack and the struggle against cultism and for student democracy.
The organisation said the Great Ife Students’ Union had rejected the tickets, adding that Students’ Union President Kujembola Olalekan said the union was excluded from the decision.
The CSYR further criticised the university’s transport restructuring, introduced in March 2026, alleging that it resulted in long queues, missed classes and examinations, inadequate buses and increased transportation costs.
The group also condemned a two-ticket policy reportedly introduced in September 2026, which it said required students to pay for two tickets per trip.
Among its demands, the CSYR urged the university to restore the ₦100 fare pending a transparent review, withdraw tickets bearing Omole’s image, publish the financial basis for any fare increase and establish a democratic transport committee involving elected students’ representatives.
It also called for renewed investigations into the 1999 killings, prosecution of surviving perpetrators and sponsors, public access to the inquiry report, and a permanent memorial for the five students.
“The CSYR calls on all students to resist this ticket, this fare, and the entire structure of campus exploitation and impunity,” the organisation said.
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