 |
Oluchi
Anekwe (Image source: TheCable)
|
The University of Lagos
(UNILAG) on Tuesday lost one of its first class students to electrocution,
leading to a school wide protest on Wednesday. Oluchi Anekwe, a
300-level student of the department of accounting was said to have made contact
with a naked wire that fell from an electric pole within the campus’ main
premises. Abiodun
Martins, the students’ union president, released a statement announcing the
suspension of academic activities on campus.
“The
University of Lagos students’ union regrets to announce the passing away of one
of us, our very own Oluchi Anekwe, a 300 level student of the department of
accounting,” the statement read. “Oluchi,
till her death, was a first-class student, and a very active student in class.
Our condolence goes to her families, relatives and friends. We pray that God
will grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.
TheCable
report continues:
“The
event that led to her death is in its entirety avoidable. We hereby call on all
concerned authorities to swing into action so as to prevent future occurrence.
“In
this regard, we hereby declare that all academic and social activities of the
school and of the students’ are hereby suspended for today and no unnecessary
sound around the campus in honour of the lost soul.”
The
statement was also signed by Jawosimi Olusegun, speaker of the student
parliament.
A
witness who spoke to TheCable said Oluchi was walking with her sister, when the
tragedy happened. She was rushed to a medical centre where she was
pronounced dead on arrival.
“She
was just walking with her sister…there was a spark (high tension wire) from one
of the poles in front of the entrance where she was headed,” he had earlier
written.
“It
fell on her. She got electrocuted; we rushed her to the medical centre. Minutes
later, she was pronounced dead.”
A
lecturer in the university who confirmed that it was a high-tension cable that
led to the electrocution, rendered a situation report, saying normalcy was back
at the university.
“Everything
is calm now; they were protesting earlier this morning. Everything was
peaceful; they locked up all entrance gates but now everything is normal,
management is addressing the issue.”
None
of the students and members of the staff contacted could confirm the situation
with the family of the deceased.
Social
media has been soaked with tributes for the deceased who her friends confirmed
was a calm, easygoing lover of Christ who always put up a smile regardless of
the situation at hand.
Her
last original post on Facebook was from July, 28, 2015 and she had
heart-rendering words on the vanity of life.
“Everything that makes us
human is vain,” she wrote.
On
the same story, PREMIUM TIMES reports that academic and social activities at
the University of Lagos were grounded, Wednesday, as dozens of students took
to the campus to protest the death of an undergraduate.
Oluchi
Anekwe, a 300-level student at the Department of Accounting, was electrocuted
on Tuesday night after a power cable fell on her as she returned from church
fellowship.
The
incident happened around 7 p.m., amidst light showers.
The
school authorities blamed the Power Holding Company of Nigeria for the
incident, saying they had warned them about installing dangerous high tension
cables on the campus.
On
Wednesday morning, the students halted activities on the campus, particularly
at the Department of Accounting were lectures were ongoing.
The
Students’ Union officials stormed the university library and chased out
students from the building.
They
also stopped lectures, as well as tests, in all the departments.
“We
hereby declare that all academic and social activities of the school and of the
students are hereby suspended for today and no unnecessary sound around the
campus in honour of the lost soul,” the university’s Students’ Union said in a
statement.
An
undergraduate told PREMIUM TIMES that the students nearly attacked the
deceased’s Course Adviser after he told them that “who has died had died. Let
us move on.”
“They
almost slapped him,” he said.
The
protesting students also locked all the gates leading into and out of the
institution, leaving motorists stranded inside the Akoka campus.
About
four police patrol vans, including dozens of officers, were stationed at the
university gate, as students demanded that they would only listen to their Vice
Chancellor.
Afterwards, the Professor
Tunde Babawale, the Dean of Student Affairs, informed the students that the VC
was away on an assignment and pleaded with them to allow the authorities handle
the matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment