FUTA: Students Protest Over Poor Health Centre Services

Students of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), have staged a protest to demand justice over the death of a student who died today, 3rd of August, 2021, as a result of negligence and poor services of the University’s health centre.

The student who died was one of five people involved in an accident that occurred at night in Akure. Among the five persons, one is currently dead while the other four are in a critical state receiving medical attention.

In an interview conducted by this correspondent, it was learnt that the protest was a result of a nonchalant attitude to work and an inhumane spirit from both the school health centre and the security unit personnel. 

At the time of the accident, someone on the scene called for the University ambulance but was told: “There is no fuel.” In response to this, a kind person drove the injured students to the University but the security personnel refused to give them access to the health centre and that sparked more annoyance. 

In an interview with Emmanuel, a 400l student of the school, he described the actions of both the health centre and security unit personnel as worrisome.

Emmanuel said: “The negligence on the part of the school is very glaring to everyone based on what is trending and I have heard – they said there is no fuel in the ambulance. How could 3 Vehicles be without fuel at the same time?. Although, I don’t want to believe the ‘There is no fuel.’ It’s a very sardonic issue. Anybody could have been involved in an accident. He was brought in at night as an emergency and the Sheriff should have let him and not asking those insensitive questions. At that time, the guy was still alive but nobody knew if it was an internal injury of which first aid would have helped.”

Reacting to the protest, he said: “The students are also unhappy because of the interaction had with the school security called Sheriff while they were trying to gain access into the University premises. The students felt bad on the approach from the security personnel.”

“Students are protesting over the negligence of the school and they feel someone should be held responsible. The excuse should not be there is no fuel. It is negligence on the part of the University health centre and definitely, the school is responsible.”

“This is not the first time this will be happening but it should be looked into and resolved, once and for all. Somebody should be held responsible and the University should come up open with a press statement.”

He advised the school to reprimand those responsible for this negligence by compensating the family of the deceased and put things in place to prevent this from happening again.

Speaking with MC Shayor, a resident of Akure, he complained bitterly about the poor health system in the country which has led to the demise of so many young ones.

“The emergency [health] system of this country is poor and lost of young ones have died as a result of that. The system can fail anybody, it is getting worse every day.”

His belief, however, is that the protest was needed and pleaded with the conveners to avoid causing a riot because, if anything untoward happens, the students will still be at the losing end of it.

“If the government cannot provide, care and protect us, then what are we benefiting from the government?” MC Shayo asked.

In an interview with another student known as Futa Bro, he mentioned that cases like this one have been happening. He labelled the protest to the remissness of the university, saying, “Negligence from the school health centre, yes it didn’t start today. There have been cases where we lost students due to this.”

He praised the Student Union of the University for not failing in demanding for and protecting the rights of the students but noted that he expects the Union, at this time, to discuss the issue with the management and ensure that students’ welfare is prioritised. 

“We should have a working emergency hotline, the health centre should be accessible at any time not selected hours (as practised),” he said.

“We want [a] health facility [where] we won’t be afraid of losing our lives in the quest to regain our health. We want a university where the security operatives will know their duties, they are meant to protect us and not be an oppressor. Make the welfare of the students a priority.”

However, as of the time of filing this report, the school management has not reacted or said anything concerning the demise of the student nor the protest staged by the students.

This story has been heavily edited by Campus Reporter, changing the author’s original voice but preserving the facts reported in the story. Campus Reporter does not bear any responsibility for the contents of this story, all views belong to the author.