Buses’ Repair Excites FedPoly Offa Students

There was jubilation at the Federal Polytechnic, Offa (OFFA) over the repair of buses which take students from the Offa Campus to the permanent site in Ojoku by the management. AFEEZ ADEYEMO (ND II Mass Communication) reports.
Initially, students of the Federal Polytechnic, Offa (OFFA POLY) in Kwara State, saw the institution’s shuttle service as a luxury. The transport scheme was introduced almost four years ago by the management to ease students’ movement from the Offa Campus to the permanent site in Ojoku town.
Two weeks ago, however, students knew the value of the service they had been enjoying when the two buses used for the scheme broke down. It was no more a smooth journey to the permanent site. The vehicles developed engine faults from lack of maintenances.
Ojoku is about six kilometres from Offa. Students pay N20 per trip to the permanent site, compared to the higher fare charged by commercial vehicle drivers.
The development resulted in hardship for the students, who receive lectures at the permanent site. Some, who attempted to stay with their colleagues in hostels at the permanent site, were not allowed by school security personnel, who reportedly told the squatters that management frowned at such act.
The alternative for students to meet  morning lecture was to ride on commercial motorcycles known as Okada, whose riders, students said, carried three passengers, thereby endangering their lives.
The development made the Students’ Union Government (SUG), led by Festus Adedeji, to plead with the management to repair the buses to reduce students’ stress.
There was jubilation on the campus when the buses started operation last week. It was gathered that the management ordered that the buses be repaired. A source told our correspondent that the management chided the buses’ drivers for lack of maintenance and failure to attend to the mechanical fault observed in the vehicle.
Students praised the management and the union for responding to their plight. They described the Rector, Dr Mufutau Olatinwo, as a caring father.
An official at the Works and Transport Department, who refused to give his name, said the management had ordered periodic maintenance work on the buses.
Festus cautioned students against misusing the buses, urging them to always be orderly whenever they want to use the vehicles.
He said: “The management will not hesitate to deal with any student that violates the rules or attempts to vandalise the school property.”
Opeyemi Amao, an ND II Marketing student, hailed the management and the union for responding quickly. He said no student valued the service until the buses broke down. “We realised the importance of the buses. If the management had not provided the buses, no one would have been able to predict what could happen to students receiving lecture at the permanent site. We cannot afford to be paying N200 per day as fare in commercial buses,” he said.
Francis Akinjo, an ND II Business and Administration student, urged the management to release more buses to complement the existing ones. He said it was improper for students to queue for hours, waiting for the buses to return from the permanent site.
In his opinion, Olawale Kareem, ND 1 Accountancy student, believe the management and not the SUG deserved praises for bringing back the buses. He said: “Students’ Union cannot be the one that discussed with the management to repair the buses. All they know is to speak high-sounding grammar. Management did what was right.”
He urged the SUG leaders to always think about students’ welfare.