New System, New Realities: OAU Shuttle Bus Undermines Students’ Realities
John Alabi & God's Gift Akowe In the recent times, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) have constantly grappled with transportation crises, with numerous disputes and disagreement between the GreatIfe Students Union Transportation Management Committee (GreatIfe TMC), and by extension the university management and Town-Gboro bus drivers, which sometimes result to fare hikes, service interruptions, and, at times, indefinite strikes. Whenever these conflicts arise, students are often at the receiving end, bearing the consequences. Due to these long-standing issues, transportation on campus has always depended on a fragile balance, a balance built on compromise rather than a sustainable system that truly prioritizes students’ welfare and safe mobility. That balance shifted again on January 29, when Nigeria's First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, commissioned 50 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses and 30 tricycles for the university. The initiative was in...