A fresh wave of #EndBadGovernance protests erupted in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Thursday as students and youths took to the streets, demanding urgent government intervention on rising insecurity and unmet developmental promises.
The protest, spearheaded by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Joint Campus Committee, Ondo Axis, comes in response to escalating cases of kidnappings, farmer-herder clashes, and what students describe as the government’s persistent failure to address their concerns. Protesters, seen in various videos marching through major roads in Akure, carried placards with inscriptions such as “Enough is Enough” and “We Demand Action Now.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday, NANS leaders, including its chairman Oluwarotimi Joshua and NANS South West Zone D Deputy Coordinator Naheem Ademola, decried the government’s continued neglect of student welfare and poor educational infrastructure. “Our demands are clear and just. We have engaged in peaceful dialogue, written official letters, and made numerous appeals, yet our cries have been ignored. Enough is enough! The government must act now,” the statement read.
The students’ key demands include immediate implementation of student-centered policies, renovation and equipping of institutional facilities, construction and rehabilitation of hostels, enhanced security for students, particularly those in industrial training programs (SIWES), procurement of student buses as promised by the government, justice for the alleged attack on NANS members in Ogbese, and inclusion of student representatives in education policymaking.
NANS has urged all students in the state to participate in the demonstration, assuring that the protest will remain peaceful but resolute in demanding accountability from the government. “The power of the students must never be undermined. We are determined to hold the government accountable and demand the quality education and welfare we deserve,” the statement concluded.
