After discovering that the private hostel amenities they had paid for were unavailable, several University of Lagos (UNILAG) students—especially those coming from outside Lagos—were left stranded for the weekend.

In preparation for the upcoming academic year, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, October 27, 2024, these students travelled from cities as far away as Calabar, paying up to N500,000 for a year’s rent.

One of the impacted students, a freshman who had just been enrolled, complained that he had to look for other lodgings when he got there. The delay in obtaining private dorm lodgings came when main-campus housing rates were raised from N43,000 to N80,000, and Idi Araba medical students now had to pay N100,000 for year-round residency.

Prof. Musa Obalola, the Dean of Student Affairs at UNILAG, acknowledged the problem and clarified that it was affecting solely private dormitories at the moment. He explained that university-run dorms are currently being renovated and would not be assigned until all amenities are completed. He stated that sessions will be temporarily held online to prevent congestion.

The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), however, made clear how strongly it opposed the price increases. Akinteye Afeez Babatunde, the president of the NANS Senate, denied in a statement that students agreed to the additional fees. NANS declared its intention to hold a National Congress on the campus of UNILAG in order to unite student opposition, characterising the fee rises as a financial hardship. The group threatened to permanently close the university if its demands were not fulfilled.

NANS called the university administration’s recommendation that students dissatisfied with on-campus housing costs look for off-campus housing disrespectful to their already precarious financial situation. They maintained that increasing educational expenses pose a danger to accessibility and that a robust, coordinated response would result from any disregard for their concerns.