Jos varsity to reopen amid students’ fears

Many students of the University of Jos and other schools around are still in shock as the institution is set to reopen after attacks on some communities, in parts of the Tin City, by assailants that left one student dead and two others injured.

The university had announcement that academic and administrative activities would start on the 8th of October following its closure after the civil unrest that rocked parts of the Plateau State capital.

But there is lingering uncertainty in many student circles as to what security modalities have been put in place by the school authority.

The civil unrest that engulfed Jos on Friday, 28th September and raged on till Sunday 30th and reared its ugly head again two days later, claimed the life of a student and left two others injured.

The fear that students could fall victim of the recurring mayhem had forced many to flee from their halls of residence with the help of the authority and security agents. Security agents attached to Operation Safe Haven and the Nigerian Police Force assisted in the evacuation of most students, while states such as Taraba provided vehicles to transport more than 300 students from the university.

But one week after the mayhem, the management decided it was time to re-open the university and resume administrative and academic activities. It stated in a statement signed by the Registrar, Mr Monday Danjem, that following wide consultations with stakeholders including deans, directors, HOD’s, the various staff unions including ASUU, as well as the students leadership, the management had resolved that activities should resume in the best interest of the institution.

The statement noted that in view of the gradual return of peace to the metropolis, the management of the institution was assuring the university community that adequate security measures had been put in place. It urged all members of the university community, especially staff and students, to comply with the directive.

But the announcement to re-open the institution now is not cheering news to some of the students who said they were still suffering from the trauma of what they experienced on campus during the crisis.

Juliet Francis, a final year student of the Faculty of Education faulted the management for eagerly rushing the academic calendar at the expense of students’ safety.

The physically challenged student told Daily Trust that “apart from the fact that some people had to travel back home, a lot of us that were at the Village Hostel have been subjected to shock due to the attack, wondering how secure our hostels are. What is the school authority doing to secure our lives especially when we just lost a student?”

She said though security has been beefed up around the hostels, there was need to look into the various routes into the campuses, adding that, “not all students live on campus, many prefer to stay off-campus where the situation is still tensed and they cannot be expected to just return because the university has re-opened.”

Kamila Tanko, a postgraduate student of the institution while re-echoing the fears of other students said, “There are fears among students, you can’t rule that out especially when some of them are coming from communities outside Jos where such happenings may be alien to them. We know the lectures must resume but the management must also make permanent security arrangements for students to feel safe.”

As part of efforts to assure the staff and students of their safety, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Seddi Sebastian Maimako, said the Plateau State Government, the state police command and other security agencies promptly responded to the university’s request for the deployment of additional security personnel at various strategic locations within the university.

Maimako also said the Police Commissioner, Undie Adie, has approved the deployment of a detachment of Police Mobile Force to protect the university until calm is fully restored.

A statement mailed to Daily Trust from the Principal Assistant Registrar, Information and Publications, Abdullahi Abdullahi, said as part of increased security measures, the president of the Students Union Government (SUG) in the university, Fwangshak Pantu, has been provided with mobile phone numbers of the team leader of the policemen stationed at the hostels for ease of communication.

The statement also appealed to parents and guardians to keep calm as the students’ security will not be compromised.

However, the SUG President Fwangshak Pantu said though concerted efforts have been made to forestall a breakdown of law and order in the university, it has become necessary for the Federal Government to consider the building of perimeter fence around the university as a matter of priority to improve security.