Still on the students crisis at Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko!

Dear Arakunrin Akeredolu/Dr. Abayomi Tunji.

Akeredolu

No matter what anybody feels, politics or no politics, I call on the Governor of Ondo State and the visitor to AAUA and the Chairman of Council to reduce the tuition fees of AAUA for parents to be able to afford it. 

The Management of AAUA allowed 100 level students to pay half of their school fees of N75,000 last semester and wrote their exams. On getting to School this year, at 200 level, they were asked to pay what they paid last year (Another increase) which means they have to pay N150,000 plus N75,000 outstanding of last year fees making N225,000.

Where will a parent that have 2 or 3 children in that school start from with this economy? 

This school fees is different from pocket money, feeding, transportation and accommodation that parents have to also cough out. 

This is what we are saying before they start acusing us of playing politics of hijack. I don't know what has been hijacked here. Anyway I am unperturbed as I am ready to stand alone on this issue.

The Governor should adopt Fashola model who reversed the tuition fees of LASU when he discovered that parents cannot afford it when I was incarcerated like this of AAUA. Mimiko was able to manage this school for 8 years without increasing the tuition fees. The current government can do it since no one has made or can make profit from investment of public fund in education all over the World and on the ground that the current Government have access to more money that the last one. 

Governor Akeredolu and Dr. Abayomi Tunji should please help the parents (who are majorly from Ondo State) and the students and address this issue once and for all. 

The template in AAUA is simply not working and I do not see it working. The economy of the Nation is simply not supporting the increase. No parent will have money and refused to pay over their child (ren) and allow such student to face crisis and police where such child (ren) can be shot dead (God forbid).

We can have a crisis free Citadel of learning with the right atmosphere. 

I am making this appeal at the risk of being labelled a rebel and to have hijacked the crisis in AAUA. I choose to stand alone if need be. Those leveling the accusation are doing that with dead conscience in want of what next to say as their pull down attempt in the past failed woefully and instead of coming out for the People they claimed they love, they are seeking to remain as "friends" of government for possible patronage. Na dem sabi!

I wish to tell them that they do not like Aketi and Abayomi better than I do but merely pretending and hiding their true identity to grab patronage. I criticised PMB in the past but when it got to re-election of PMB, I joined forces with others and worked seriously to deliver votes for him while these set of people playing sychophancy were no where to be found; while some did not vote, some of them failed and capsized to PDP in their various units. At the next election, Arakunrin will know his true friends!

TOLU BABALEYE ESQ is a stakeholder in AAUA and Ondo State Project and he writes from Abuja. 25/4/2019.