Though the process has been gradual, the students and management of the Lagos State University (LASU) are hoping that peace will return to the school soon.
Established in 1983 by the government of Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande, the institution has churned out several people who have contributed immensely to the development of the state and the country as a whole.
It is, however, unfortunate that the ivory tower that should be a citadel of learning has become a hotbed of violence and constant crisis.
The current crisis started shortly after the appointment of Prof John Obafunwa as the 7th Vice Chancellor of LASU by the immediate past governor of the state, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola on November 1, 2011.
The crisis in the school has since become routine and it has affected the output of the institution in many ways.
Some schools of thought believe that the students of LASU have become used to violence such that they are easily noticeable wherever they go.
All these are indications that there is more work for the in-coming vice chancellor of the institution because once he or she does not carry the students along in his or her policies, the new regime may be crisis- ridden, as witnessed during the tenure of the immediate past Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Obafunwa, who has since handed over to the acting VC of the university, Professor Fidelis Olisamedua Njokanma.
If the appointment of the acting VC of the school is eventually confirmed, he has to strive hard to make the difference and have a peaceful tenure in the school.
LEADERSHIP checks showed that greater percentage of residents of the state have lost confidence in the school because of the perceived inability of both its management and the state government to restore peace into the institution.
They allegedly revealed that they prefer to send their children outside Lagos State to study than to send them to LASU.
It is the hope of the concerned residents of the state that the present administration in the state would find a lasting solution to the problems that are confronting the school.
To the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), the crisis that has be-devilled the university was as a result of hike in school fees by the past administration in the state.
The group opined that the obnoxious policies of the state government and the management of the university, like underfunding, poor learning environment and other vices have hampered the progress of the university and have prevented the students from acquiring quality education.
According to ERC, It is this feeling that has brought into life a new movement called #SaveLASU# which is a movement comprising LASU Students Union, the Education Rights Campaign (ERC), the National Union of Lagos State Students (NULASS), radical and progressive groups in LASU.
This movement has saddled itself with the sole responsibility of campaigning for the repositioning of LASU for good and restoring it to the dream of its founding fathers.
The 22nd and 23rd of January, 2014 will go down in the history of LASU as the days the university witnessed the highest level of protest on its soil.
Its not that the students just protested for nothing on 22nd January, as the following day,23rd of January was meant to mark the beginning of the much awaited 2nd semester examination of the school.
The protest, which was staged by students who had been deprived the opportunity to register online after they had paid their school fees to the banks, started at about 11 am on the 22nd of January, 2014 and was meant to be a very peaceful one.
They had earlier gathered at the senate building of the school to plead with the university’s management to open their portal so that they could register and sit for their exams.
Unfortunately, the pleas of 1,292 students of the university fell on the deaf ears of the university management of the school, which felt that the demands should be ignored, and this eventually led to a protest on January 22nd, 2014.
Also, the attitude of the then VC of the school, Prof Obafunwa, according to the students, ignited the crisis and caused a serious protest in the institution.
This action of the then VC who had at a point called the action of the 1,292 students insignificant, did not go down well with the students and they took to the streets around the school, and ran after the VC’s convoy.
The actions of the VC as it were, led to another protest on January 23rd, 2014. Since then, the institution has been moving from one crisis to another.
However, a stakeholder in the sector said the current acting VC of LASU must try his best to bring the representatives of the students and those of other unions, especially the ASUU/LASU, together in order to end the problems that are confronting the school.
No matter how influential the vice chancellor of the university is, experts opined that he cannot paddle the boat of LASU alone, saying he must ensure he learn from his predecessors and plan how to resolve the internal crisis of the institution.
“He has been given the baton of leadership of the school, it is now left for him how he wants to manage the school to bring about peace so that normal academic activities could resume in the school.”
They said that the acting VC of the school should know that his name will not be forgotten easily if he did his best to restructure and re-position the institution for a better performance and restore its lost glory.”
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