*** students groan as Tanke flyover cripples academic activities
The Management of University of Ilorin, in a statement e-signed by the Director of Corporate Affairs has blamed the transportation challenges in the University on the administration of Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq.
According to Akogun “The Management is currently engaging with the Kwara State Government on the need to conclude the Flyover construction on the Tipper Garage axis of the University Road timely and the provision of more strategic interventions to ease the burden of our students”.
In the statement made available by the university, it was disclosed that the management is now forced to consider virtual learning to unburden the students of the university. The statement further disclosed that the discomfort is overwhelming as the institution continues to scan for options to mitigate the effect of the bridge construction.
You will recall that many stakeholders had faulted the choice of siting the bridge at the Tipper Garage axis and foretold the discomfort it will breed upon resumption of students. A former senate president of the student union of the university had in a previous statement where he predicted the present outcome noted that stakeholders in the university community were not engaged before the state government embarked on the flyover construction which he described as a misplaced priority because the immediate needs of members of the university community had not been attended to.
Speaking to our correspondent, some students lamented how they had become overburdened with the project which has resulted to a hike in transportation prices while reducing the number of buses plying that axis hence making it a tug of war to gain access to the campus for lectures. They also complained about how unprepared most students are for the virtual learning the university management is being forced to consider in light of present realities citing a lack of resources and how inefficient it is compared to onsite learning in our clime.
According to experts in the construction industry, it was suggested that an expansion of the roads along the University road could have been the perfect solution to traffic along that axis, which many said was bearable compared to present realities caused by the flyover construction.
Concerns were also raised about the poor standard of job and lack of compliance with quality assurance procedures by the construction workers at the flyover who are reportedly under pressure to hasten the completion as against safety guidelines by the Kwara state government, having failed to deliver at the initially promised month of November, 2022.