Both academic and non-academic activities were completely paralyzed at the University of Ibadan (UI) and in the suburb Agbowo community on Thursday, as students in thousands embarked on a peaceful demonstration to protest the death of one of their colleague identified as Mayowa Alaran.
Mayowa, who was said to be a first class 200 level student of Human Kinetics was said to have died around 8:30pm Wednesday due to the refusal of the medical team in the institution’s health centre popularly known as Jaja, to treat him because those that brought him could not produce his clinic card.
The student locked all the entrance gates to the institution as well as blocked motorable path. They equally blocked Agbowo expressway and caused a standstill.
However, there were two conflicting reports as regards the death of Mayowa.
According to the protesting students, Mayowa who was watching Barcelona versus Bayern Munich Champions League clash Match at India Hall, a female hostel suddenly slumped around 8:00pm and started gasping.
The students said that the moment other students saw him, they called the university health centre to send ambulance but they refused saying that the centre has only one ambulance which had taken a patient to University College Hospital UCH) for treatment.
“A student who identified himself as Siji said, “The medical students on ground tried their best. They gave him mouth to mouth respiration to resuscitate him to no avail. Eventually, we carried him straight to the hospital.
“On getting to the hospital, a staff on duty did not accept him asking the sick person who could not talk to produce his clinic card or tell them his matriculation number. About thirty minutes after, the boy gave up the ghost.”
Another report given by the Students Union Government President, Femi Odesola said that the student had died before getting to the health centre.
But the students who surrounded him when he was speaking to newsmen violently protested against the SUG president saying that he was working for the school authority to cover what really happened.
They said that at a different occasion, the SUG president betray the students when it comes to issues relating to the students.
The students who did not allow the SUG president to speak on their behalf to the Vice Chancellor, Professor Isaac Adewole demanded that the school authority should punish the staff who refused to treat the deceased, asking for, “ambulance to be provided in all hall of residence, and ensure constant power supply.”
When the VC and his men went to the health centre to know what really happened, the staff of the clinic locked the door and denied the VC entrance out of the fear that the students that followed him might destroy the facility.
As at the time of filing this report, policemen and member of State Security Service were on ground to prevent the situation from generating to an unthinkable level.
Effort to get the VC to speak to the newsmen as at the time of filing this report proved abortive as he was busy trying to calm down the situation.
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