“I Fainted Last Week”: UNILORIN Students Cry Out, Endure 4-Hour Queues as Transport Crisis Worsens
- UNILORIN students have decried spending up to four hours daily under the sun, struggling for shuttle buses
- Parents and students described the shuttle ordeal as exhausting, embarrassing, and affecting their health and academics
- Reacting, the Vice Chancellor promised more buses soon, including 100 Electric Vehicles, to ease long-standing transport chaos
Students of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) have continued to express deep frustration over the daily struggle to board shuttle buses on campus, with many spending up to four hours under the harsh sun waiting for transportation.
A visit by a Legit.ng correspondent on Monday revealed distressing scenes of students standing in painfully long queues, sweating, exhausted, and visibly distressed.
Source: Instagram
Some sat on the bare floor out of fatigue, while others held their notebooks and umbrellas over their heads to shield themselves from the unbearable heat.
For many students living off campus, this ordeal happens twice daily, in the morning before lectures and again in the afternoon while heading home.
Parent, students express outrage over shuttle chaos
Odunola Taiye, who had gone to drop her daughter off at school, told Legit.ng she was overwhelmed with emotion.
“Honestly, too sad to watch, walai talai(I swear to God). When I went there to drop my daughter off at school, I felt sad and worried about the situation. The University of Ilorin should find a solution. Walai, students can collapse from this *** line up. I’m sad. In fact, too sad and emotional.”
Bayo Lawal, a student, described the situation as embarrassing for a university that prides itself as “Better by far.”
“Like a village school. Very primitive in the 21st century. Better by far indeed.”
Adepeju Olayinka, who saw the situation firsthand last Thursday, expressed shock.
“When I saw the queue, I was like 'whatttttt.' One of the SUG executives had to create space for me in front because I didn’t go with the car. I could never join the queue."
"What came to my mind was, ‘how are these students coping with this nonsense?’ Na so e be for Unilorin o. Same as Kwasu, but this Unilorin is worse.”
Several students approached during the Legit.ng visit were nearly in tears as they described what they go through every day.
Zainab Musa, a 200-level student, held her water bottle tightly, her voice shaky as she narrated:
“Sometimes I leave home by 6:30 am and still miss my 8 am class because of this queue. You will stand till your legs start shaking. I fainted here last week. My friends helped me. This is not life.”
Samuel Adebayo, a final-year student, said the situation has drained students emotionally and academically.
“I’m mentally tired. Imagine standing for three hours before lectures, then standing again after class to go home. Many of us reach home around 7 pm. We don’t even have the strength to read again.”
Faith Ogunlade, who was shielding herself with a notebook, said she had cried twice in the queue.
“Sometimes I just cry. The sun is too much, the crowd is too much. You’ll be pushed, shouted at, and still wait for hours. I don’t know how long we can continue like this.”
Source: Original
Another student, Azeez, told Legit.ng he now contemplates deferring a semester.
“My health is suffering. I have an ulcer, and staying this long without food is killing me slowly. I don’t know if I will cope till the semester ends.”
VC reacts, promises relief soon
Responding to the widespread outcry, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Egbewole, SAN, issued a statement on Thursday appreciating the students’ patience and assuring them that more buses would arrive soon.
He said, “I appreciate your resilience, maturity, responsiveness, and calmness in the face of the daunting challenges.”
The VC explained that the relocation of the park was done for safety and security, not to punish students.
He confirmed that additional buses, including 100 Electric Vehicles, were expected to arrive within days.
“While we appreciate that an extra day of this challenge is costly, please be assured that Administration is doing everything within its powers to resolve this matter without any further delay.”
High‑scoring girl denied UNILORIN admission again
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that an 18‑year‑old girl, Elizabeth Funmilayo Odewusi, who scored 293 in JAMB and 60% in her Post‑UTME, was denied admission into UNILORIN’s Nursing Science programme for the second year in a row.
Her family and concerned Nigerians cried foul, calling her rejection a “gross injustice” despite her excellent O‑level grades, which include strong results in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Maths.
Some have demanded that UNILORIN and JAMB explain the repeated denial, warning that this could discourage bright students and undermine meritocratic admission processes.
Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
