“We Paid, We Got Nothing”: OAU Students Shut Campus Gate, Disrupt Lectures Over Delayed ID Cards
Academic and administrative activities were thrown into disarray on Monday morning at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, as students staged a protest over the prolonged failure of the institution’s management to issue student identity cards.
OSUN DEFENDER reports that as early as 7:00 a.m., members of the Students’ Union locked the university’s main gate, bringing vehicular movement into the campus to a halt.
Lecturers, non-teaching staff, and fellow students were left stranded outside the premises, while those already within the campus faced confusion and growing anxiety.
The demonstration quickly spread beyond the gate as the union leadership led a coordinated disruption of academic activities.
Protesters stormed lecture theaters and examination halls, forcing students to vacate classrooms while chanting solidarity songs and slogans, including the now-popular refrain, “No ID, No Exam!”
“This is not just a protest, it is a call for accountability. How do you collect fees from thousands of students and fail to produce a simple ID card for nearly a year?,” one of the student leaders was heard saying through a megaphone at the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Several students who spoke to OSUN DEFENDER vented their frustration over what they described as a clear case of negligence and administrative insensitivity.
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“We paid for ID cards since last semester, yet we have received nothing but silence and shifting promises. Now, they want us to write exams without identification. That is unacceptable,” said Tunde, a final-year student in the Faculty of Arts.
Rukayat, a 200-level student, narrated how she was denied access to the university library last week due to the absence of an ID card.
“They’re telling us to use other means of identification, but we don’t have any. It’s like we’re invisible in our own school,” she lamented.
Another student, Temiloluwa from the Department of Accounting, added, “This is beyond ID cards. It’s about justice and value for money. You don’t collect fees and deliver nothing.”
Despite the disruption, the protest remained peaceful throughout. No incident of violence or property damage was reported at the time of filing this report.
Reacting to the growing unrest, the university management released an official statement appealing for calm.
According to the Division of Student Affairs, efforts are already underway to resolve the issue, with assurances that the first batch of ID cards will be distributed within 48 hours.
“The delay is regrettable. The University is giving urgent attention to the matter and will commence distribution on or before Wednesday,” the statement reads in part.
Okikiola Adewale is a young and vibrant undergraduate pen pusher with training in both print and digital journalism. He has a flair for writing, content development and people-oriented reporting to seek societal change.
