29th September, 2015
The students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) on Monday gave the institution’s authorities a seven-day ultimatum to replace all mattresses in the halls of residence, to avert crisis.
UNILAG’s Students Union President, Mr Abiodun Martins, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
NAN reports that the students had, earlier in the day, protested against what they described as massive invasion of mosquitoes and bedbugs in their respective halls of residence.
The students had shut the gate of the institution while the protest lasted, thereby making it impossible for workers living outside the institution to have access and resume work.
According to Martins, the students have to protest because the bugs and mosquitoes are making life unbearable for them, as many of them could hardly sleep after the day’s activities.
“We want this management to be proactive in responding to the demands of the students.
“The authorities must not always wait for a crisis or protest to erupt before they react.
He said that the issue had been raised with the authorities before now and that nothing was done.
“There is a limit to which students can bear and I feel what they were protesting against is not out of place, because they paid for it.”
According to him, the whole place was recently fumigated, but it seemed that the bugs have developed resistance to the chemical.
“So, what we are asking for now is for the authorities to look for a lasting solution to this challenge.
“We hereby give them a seven-day ultimatum, beginning from today, to replace all the old mattresses.
“We want them to burn all the old mattresses, fumigate the hostels, do away with all the fittings, and then bring in new mattresses,” he said.
The students’ leader said that no matter the challenges facing the institution’s authorities, it should ensure that the interests of the students were always given top priority.
One of the students, Maxwell Abayomi, said that the students marched out of their respective hostels for the protest as early as 3:00 a.m., to express their disgust over the development.
According to him, the presence of the bugs have left a sour taste in the mouths of the students, adding that the development constitutes a serious health hazard.
Abayomi said that the institution last fumigated the halls in 2012, when the institution hosted the National Sports Festival.
NAN reports that some of the students had hung their mattresses on the gates of the school, while obstructing the movement of workers, who were getting into the campus, to resume for the day.
However, the students had since returned to their normal activities and normalcy restored on campus.
Attempts to get the comments of the institution’s authorities proved abortive.