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“OAU Students'’ Versus ‘'CNG Buses'’: Who Won?

By The Icons May 29, 2026

Oluwafemi Adetunji Going down memory lane, as though it were only yesterday, it all began as a gesture of goodwill: a donation by “Màmá Onínú Ire,” the most highly ranked woman of the nation. A legacy gift to her roots, a symbol of progress rolled into Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) on wheels powered by Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), courtesy of her distinguished alumna. Photo Credit: Ezekiel Ogunniyi The optics were impeccable. The ancient citadel of learning now had modern buses, cleaner energy, and what appeared to be a total transport revolution. Unfortunately, what followed was less of a revolution and more of a rapid evacuation. The first decisive move came swiftly and without hesita...

Three Weeks, Little Sales: How Unplanned Break Affects OAU Studentpreneurs

By The Icons May 26, 2026

Sofiat Yusuf Damilola was settling down into her room in Moremi hall on Monday night, when she received a text that her goods had arrived in Ile-ife and were ready for pick-up. Almost immediately, she got another notification stating that the students have declared a peaceful protest over the transportation crises. Her thoughts immediately were the mode of how OAU students are known to protest by blocking all cars, buses and bikes from going in and out of the campus gate, with all academic activities suspended. ‎‎Ordinarily, Damilola would have gone to get her goods the next day, but that couldn't as a result of the protest, hence, she postponed the trip to Wednesday. However, on Tuesday afternoon after a few hours of protests, the university management announced a 3-week mid semester break effective immediately, in which the Dean, Division Student Affairs (DSA) released a memo instr...

Management Orders Immediate Commencement of Academic Activities After 3-Week Break

By The Icons May 18, 2026

John Alabi The management of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) has ordered the commencement of all academic activities, following the Senate meeting held on Thursday, May 14, where the issue of resumption was explicitly discussed. The resumption and academic activities commencement resolution was disclosed in a statement issued by the Office of the Registrar of the University, which reads: “After an exhaustive deliberation on the matter, the Senate agreed that students should resume on Tuesday, May 19, and all academic activities will commence immediately.” Recall that the ICONS Organization reported that a 3-week mid-semester break was declared by the University management on April 27, via a statement issued by the Office of the Public Relations Officer of the institution, in response to a peaceful protest staged by students demanding an improved and convenient transportation system, as well as a halt to th...

SPECIAL REPORT: The Academic Struggles of Students in OAU and UI

By The Icons May 13, 2026

By Içons Organization & IndyPress UI Federal institutions once regarded as the hope of the common man and symbols of Nigeria’s academic pride now mirror the decay creeping through the nation’s public education system. A close look at the big names in the circle, University of Ibadan (UI) and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), reveals students battling rising tuition fees, crumbling lecture halls, overcrowded classes, and a teaching culture stifled by rushed lectures and vanishing continuous assessments. In lecture rooms where bats perch on broken ceilings, live inside empty speaker boxes, many students juggle side hustles to survive, paying tuition that rivals a month’s minimum wage, while receiving lectures in poorly ventilated halls. For them, the struggle for education has become a contest between endurance and ambition, a painful reflection of how Nigeria’s foremost institutions are losing the excellence the...

Inside OAU: The Untold Realities of Student-Athletes

By The Icons May 08, 2026

Adedoyin Onajobi As early as 5:30 a.m. on a daily basis, Zuco, a final year student from the Department of Kinesiology and Health Recreation (KHR), who is also the captain of the OAU Handball team, is already awake or at least preparing to be. Zuco sometimes finds it difficult to get up, but by or before 6 a.m., he is already on his feet, rushing to be ready 15 minutes before his 7 a.m. lecture. So, by or before 11 p.m., he will finally fall asleep, till tomorrow where he follows the same routine. Zuco’s reality is not unusual at Obafemi Awolowo University. Across different Faculties and Departments, a number of students live a somewhat “double life,” in that they attend lectures, write exams, and still represent themselves, their department, faculty and even the university on the pitch, court, and pool, simultaneously. Findings revealed a 64.2% sport participation prevalence among Nigerian undergraduate students,...

Great Ife International Health Conference: Practitioners Charge Students to Embrace Mental Healthcare

By The Icons May 07, 2026

John Alabi & Fawas Adedeji Earlier today, the office of the Welfare Director of the Great Ife Students' Union, held the maiden international health conference, tagged "Surviving to Succeed: Addressing Health, Well-being, and Welfare Challenges in the Student Environment," at Hotel De Treasure Event Centre, Ibadan road. This event, as convened by the union Welfare Director, Musab Osunleke, was organised to create awareness about students' mental health, and ways to monitor their well being in the midst of their various academic pursuits and expectations. Prominent speakers and panelists at the event include the Managing Partner, Interdym Rutgers, at the State University of New Jersey, USA, Dr. Bashir Agboola, as the keynote speaker. Dr Oluwagbemi, a consultant family physician at Iwosan Lagoon Hospital, the Director of Nursing services at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Bernice Aketi, Dr. George Uchen...