There was pandemonium at the two campuses of the University of Abuja located at Gwagwalada and Airport Road area of Nigeria’s federal capital territory Abuja as students went on a rampage to protest the non-accreditation of some of their courses.
The protest, which commenced at 6:00 AM, was started by Engineering students. Many students soon joined in blocking the main gate of the school to protest harsh conditions of education and general mismanagement of the university by officials the students regard as incompetent and irresponsible.
Some students said the university is in poor condition as inhabitants of the girls hostel lack of water supply which forces them to fetch water from the boys hostel. Student leaders of the protest said the school is also bedeviled with overpopulated classes, cancelled lectures, lack of library facilities and lecture halls as well as the refusal of the school authorities to allow for independent student union elections.
The protests quickly spread as several students took to the street just as some of their colleagues began sitting for their first semester examinations, which ought to start on Monday.
The protest led to the cancellation of examination in various classes slated for the day as lecturers and invigilators abandoned the two campuses to safety.
The examination was meant for the school's regular students.
The grudge of the protesting students at the Engineering faculty was the non-accreditation of their courses despite the assurance given to them by the school authority.
The accreditation panel of the National University Commission had recently refused to certify some of the courses being run by the university.
Some of the courses are in the Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture and Sciences.
The Federal Ministry of Education had earlier promised to take some of the students to other universities for the completion of their courses because of the non-accreditation of their courses, but that had not happened.
When it dawned on the students that the government and the school officials were just fooling them, they embarked on the strike that crippled the school today.
Carrying several placards with messages like, "Don't destroy our future", "Stop deceiving us", "We want to graduate as engineers, not technologists", the students vowed to continue with their actions on Tuesday if the government does not act on their grievances.
It is not clear if the protesting students will allow their colleagues to sit for examinations slated for Tuesday.
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