LEGALIZED EXTORTION OF KADUNA STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN THE NAME OF ACCOMMODATION
The past government of Kaduna State during the Makarfi administration through the management of KASU leased some plots of land in KASU to certain private investors for the construction of privately owned hostels to accommodate her female students on the basis sessional rent. The lack of accommodation in KASU at that time compelled everyone to applaud the move without given any consideration to the amount they are to charge every interested student for a bed space per session.
For every student that aspires to thrive in his educational pursuits, residing within the confines of his/her institution is of paramount importance, in other to access a conducive classroom to study and learn, a well equipped library to study, make reference and research and to also access latest academic information on Campus in good time. Therefore any serious student will go any length to reside on Campus and in the case of KASU students, they are overwhelmed with only the accommodation option offered to them by those private investors at any cost. Building those female Hostels (Adama, ASD, Hamdala, etc) was a welcomed idea but over the years, it became glaring that the sole aim of those private investors was to create a Goldmine by milking our helpless students. The current price of bed space in a room of four (4) students in KASU has refuted our opinion of free education in this state and the sincerity of our elites in Government with respect to the welfare of the Kaduna state students. With the exception of KASU, There is no government owned high institution in Nigeria were a student pays above ₦10,000 for accommodation. It is inhuman for any investor no matter his quest and greed for making profit to hide under the government and extort our innocent and helpless students by renting them a bed space per annum at; ₦58,000 in Kadabu Hostel, and ₦50,000 in Hamdala and ASD ₦45, 000 Hostels. With these outrageous prices of bed space in KASU, the least a group of four (4) students will surrender to these heartless investors for a single room is ₦180,000 which will without doubt settle the rent of a 2 bedroom flat self contain in most areas of Kaduna state. And with the minimum wage still pegged at ₦18,000, how can a student that depends on a low income parent be able to raise an approximate sum of ₦30,000 as tuition fees and ₦58,000 as accommodation fees? With the present economic situation of our country, it will be difficult for any of those KASU students especially those from a humble background to be able to raise over a hundred thousand for both tuition and accommodation fees without going out of their way. Hence to survive this condition and get education, most female students in KASU will definitely have to go out their way.
Since time immemorial, the essence of governance has always been the welfare of the people but the accommodation of the female students in KASU has proven otherwise and it is obvious that some of our elites in and out of the corridors of power in Kaduna state have over the year’s fine-tuned some educational policies of the government to enable them with the proper opportunity to make a huge dirty profit out of the miseries of those helpless KASU students. This insensitivity has brought untold hardship and academic constraints and has forced most of the KASU students to reside in the suburb settlement of Ungwan Rimi and has left them vulnerable without security at the mercy of Area thugs and street urchins. This insensitivity over the years has prompted us to ask the following questions;
1. Why will the government create a university without any plan of accommodation for her students?
2. Why will the government lease those plots of land in the heart of KASU without regulating the profit they make?
3. Is the Kaduna state government unaware of the plight of these innocent and helpless students in the hands of those private investors all these years?
For the past one decade, the Kaduna state students in KASU under the watch of the Kaduna state government has become an ATM machine for making quick millions by these private investors. The leadership of the Kaduna state students repudiates the extortion of her students in the name of accommodation and will no longer allow these helpless and innocent students to be a conduit pipe for any high profit private investor. Therefore we call upon the Executive Governor of Kaduna state, His Excellency Mallam Nasiru Ahmad Elrufai in the name of justice and his free education initiative to speedily intervene and lessen the burden of these students by rescinding any form of contract the state through KASU management might have entered with these private investors, compensate them and take over those properties for the benefit of the poor students. His Excellency should write his name with Gold in the Annals of good governance in Kaduna state by eliminating this menace that has been shortchanging the ordinary Kaduna state student or join the long list of insensitive and corrupt Elites that has connived with those private investors over the years against the educational progress and welfare of the students of KASU.
We will remain law abiding but we will soon demonstrate our grievances through legal and non violent means. Aluta Continua Victoria Ascerta!
JATAU MUSA LUKA
For every student that aspires to thrive in his educational pursuits, residing within the confines of his/her institution is of paramount importance, in other to access a conducive classroom to study and learn, a well equipped library to study, make reference and research and to also access latest academic information on Campus in good time. Therefore any serious student will go any length to reside on Campus and in the case of KASU students, they are overwhelmed with only the accommodation option offered to them by those private investors at any cost. Building those female Hostels (Adama, ASD, Hamdala, etc) was a welcomed idea but over the years, it became glaring that the sole aim of those private investors was to create a Goldmine by milking our helpless students. The current price of bed space in a room of four (4) students in KASU has refuted our opinion of free education in this state and the sincerity of our elites in Government with respect to the welfare of the Kaduna state students. With the exception of KASU, There is no government owned high institution in Nigeria were a student pays above ₦10,000 for accommodation. It is inhuman for any investor no matter his quest and greed for making profit to hide under the government and extort our innocent and helpless students by renting them a bed space per annum at; ₦58,000 in Kadabu Hostel, and ₦50,000 in Hamdala and ASD ₦45, 000 Hostels. With these outrageous prices of bed space in KASU, the least a group of four (4) students will surrender to these heartless investors for a single room is ₦180,000 which will without doubt settle the rent of a 2 bedroom flat self contain in most areas of Kaduna state. And with the minimum wage still pegged at ₦18,000, how can a student that depends on a low income parent be able to raise an approximate sum of ₦30,000 as tuition fees and ₦58,000 as accommodation fees? With the present economic situation of our country, it will be difficult for any of those KASU students especially those from a humble background to be able to raise over a hundred thousand for both tuition and accommodation fees without going out of their way. Hence to survive this condition and get education, most female students in KASU will definitely have to go out their way.
Since time immemorial, the essence of governance has always been the welfare of the people but the accommodation of the female students in KASU has proven otherwise and it is obvious that some of our elites in and out of the corridors of power in Kaduna state have over the year’s fine-tuned some educational policies of the government to enable them with the proper opportunity to make a huge dirty profit out of the miseries of those helpless KASU students. This insensitivity has brought untold hardship and academic constraints and has forced most of the KASU students to reside in the suburb settlement of Ungwan Rimi and has left them vulnerable without security at the mercy of Area thugs and street urchins. This insensitivity over the years has prompted us to ask the following questions;
1. Why will the government create a university without any plan of accommodation for her students?
2. Why will the government lease those plots of land in the heart of KASU without regulating the profit they make?
3. Is the Kaduna state government unaware of the plight of these innocent and helpless students in the hands of those private investors all these years?
For the past one decade, the Kaduna state students in KASU under the watch of the Kaduna state government has become an ATM machine for making quick millions by these private investors. The leadership of the Kaduna state students repudiates the extortion of her students in the name of accommodation and will no longer allow these helpless and innocent students to be a conduit pipe for any high profit private investor. Therefore we call upon the Executive Governor of Kaduna state, His Excellency Mallam Nasiru Ahmad Elrufai in the name of justice and his free education initiative to speedily intervene and lessen the burden of these students by rescinding any form of contract the state through KASU management might have entered with these private investors, compensate them and take over those properties for the benefit of the poor students. His Excellency should write his name with Gold in the Annals of good governance in Kaduna state by eliminating this menace that has been shortchanging the ordinary Kaduna state student or join the long list of insensitive and corrupt Elites that has connived with those private investors over the years against the educational progress and welfare of the students of KASU.
We will remain law abiding but we will soon demonstrate our grievances through legal and non violent means. Aluta Continua Victoria Ascerta!
JATAU MUSA LUKA
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