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| UI Car Park |
By Adebowale Akinjide
Different reactions have followed the hike in the new transport prices that was announced on the 23rd of August in a document released by the Professor Olajide-led Intra-campus Transport Committee (ICTC). The price increase was the expectation of many due to the massive upsurge of petroleum motor spirit (PMS) price that followed the subsidy removal at the inception of the Tinubu’s administration.
This recent increase is the second of its kind this year. The first hike in prices of transport charged on campus started first as early as March. In March, while prices of halls like Bello, Kuti, Mellanby, remained at N50, other halls including Zik, Awo, Indy and Idia were charged at N100. Months later, there were reports of commuters charging beyond these rates. To this effect, the Students’ Union released a press statement informing the student populace of the channel to report the commuters charging beyond the stipulated prices to.
The prevalence in the increase left many students believing that the prices of the transport fare had been increased without an official announcement, which many deemed unjustifiable and unfair. However, any form of price increase without the Vice-chancellor’s approval cannot be ascribed to anyone in particular except a call by the commuters themselves.
In an onsite interview with Zik Press, the chairman of the taxi and tricycle commuters on campus, Mr. Joseph Temitope aka ‘Dangote’ denied any form of increment around June, alluding that an increase can only be implemented by an approval from the vice-chancellor.
“The commuters cannot increase (the prices) without approval from the management, because we carry some places N100, some places N50 when the fuel was N190, N195, N200, N220; that was when the price we are carrying before is like that”.
However, in a whatsapp discussion with the Student Union House Secretary, Oluwole Ayomide Sanjay, he affirmed that the ICTC chairman once addressed the commuters, asking them to revert to the old prices. In Sanjay’s words, they simply said that “they wouldn’t”.
What is the Student Union’s stance in all of these?
In a meeting around early August, with the Union been represented by Samuel Samson Tobiloba (Host) himself, the issue of commuters on campus charging above the regulated price was discussed.
After this meeting, the committee reached out to both the Students Union and the commuters, submitting the proposed transport fares. From that meeting, another 8-man committee was constituted, with Sanjay being the only student. In this meeting, the commuters and the Students Union submitted their proposals while another 3-man committee was set up by the ICTC to find an equalizer between the prices of the two parties. The resolve of this latter committee was approved by the ICTC as the latest charges for transport in the campus.
Sanjay averred that the Union did not accept the new prices due to its outrageousness. To salvage the situation, the Student Union had to draft new price tags.
“We had to make another proposal. So, it was in that other proposal that myself met with the ICTC chairman” Oluwole explained.
The proposal allowed the ICTC and the Student Union to agree on some prices, while some were different from the agreement of the committee.
For instance, the Student Union lobbied that all areas, basically halls of residence and faculties, and some places mostly plied by students remain at N100.
The final price release only reflected the Union’s interest for the prices of Zik and Indy, but for Awo that most of the other members of the committee wanted to stipulate at N100, Sanjay lobbied to be reduced to N100. Till this very moment, this stance of the Student regarding the price has not changed.
Are the commuters overcharging?
The students are the largest decision-making body in the university, and it is just appropriate that the interest of the students is placed with more premium when it clashes with any other interest in the university. However, applying this logic to this context would be to be deluded from the Nigerian economic reality.
Dangote, the park chairman spoke extensively about how the commuters have been running at loss before upgrade in the prices.
“Now if you want to go to Science (faculty of science), let’s say we buy 5 liters for a car to go to science which is N100 before, and it will go only five trips, and 5 liters is N3000. If it is control price at Mobil, it is N590. Let’s say N590 multiplied by 5 liters [sic], it will give us N2,950. Now, it will go five trip before it finishes. N100 multiplied by 4, because (a) car carries four passengers, which is N400, and there’s no probability of carry-back. Let’s calculate it like that: N400 multiplied by 5 times that he went, it will give us N2,000. A loss of N950”.
Added to that loss that the commuters suffered during the previous price list, he also explained how much they spend on the maintenance of the vehicles ranging from the wears and tears, changing the tyres, fixing the batteries, kicks and brake-pads, servicing and what have you.
