Nigerian Concord Newspaper
The African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ondo State Chapter, is deeply concerned and disturbed by reports surrounding the confrontation between security personnel and students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), during the Wednesday, September 2, 2026 peaceful protest over the prolonged disruption of academic activities in the institution.
The confirmed reported deployment and use of armed security personnel to disperse protesting students represents a deeply troubling response to a legitimate grievance that ought to have been addressed through dialogue, engagement and responsible leadership.
Students are not enemies of the state. They are the sons and daughters of Ondo State and the future professionals, entrepreneurs, academics and leaders upon whom the future of our state depends.
The ADC therefore calls on Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa to immediately de-escalate the situation and personally demonstrate the statesmanship expected of the occupant of the highest political office in the state.
The fundamental issue before the government is straightforward: why has the crisis at AAUA been allowed to persist for so long, with students bearing the consequences of a dispute between government and university workers?
The reported prolonged industrial action by teaching and non-teaching staff has disrupted lectures, examinations and the academic calendar, leaving students uncertain about their educational future. Final-year students, graduating students and those preparing for professional programmes cannot afford indefinite delays.
Rather than treating students demanding the restoration of their academic rights as a security problem, government should treat the situation as an education and governance problem requiring an urgent political solution.
THE GOVERNMENT MUST ENGAGE, NOT INTIMIDATE
The appropriate response to a peaceful protest is engagement.
The Commissioner for Education and relevant officials of government should have been at the forefront of discussions with the students, university management and staff unions. Where there is disagreement, government has the responsibility to convene the meeting of all stakeholders, listen to their grievances and negotiate a sustainable resolution.
The ADC particularly calls on the state government to make full use of the experience of its Education Commissioner, Prof. Igbekele Amos Ajibefun, a respected academic and former Vice Chancellor of AAUA, whose knowledge of the university system places him in a strategic position to help resolve the crisis.
This is a moment for leadership, not symbolism.
GOVERNMENT MUST PRIORITISE EDUCATION
The Aiyedatiwa administration must also explain to the people why an institution as important as AAUA has been permitted to remain engulfed in prolonged industrial crisis.
Government revenues and allocations are intended to serve the people. Education, workers’ welfare and the uninterrupted academic development of our young people should therefore receive serious and sustained attention.
The ADC is not unaware of the competing demands on government resources. However, the welfare of students and the stability of our tertiary institutions cannot continually be relegated to the background.
We also caution against presenting routine payment of statutory obligations, including pension and gratuity commitments, as though they are substitutes for broader developmental achievements. Pensioners deserve their entitlements, but government must simultaneously demonstrate measurable progress in education, healthcare, infrastructure, employment and economic development.
POWER IS TEMPORARY; THE CONSEQUENCES OF GOVERNANCE ARE LONG-LASTING
Governor Aiyedatiwa should remember that political power is transient. Every administration eventually gives way to another, but the decisions taken while in office become part of the historical record.
The Governor therefore has an opportunity to change the narrative surrounding the AAUA crisis by choosing reconciliation over confrontation and dialogue over force.
We urge him to immediately:
1. Order a comprehensive review of the circumstances surrounding the confrontation with AAUA students;
2. Ensure that no student is victimised for peacefully expressing legitimate grievances;
3. Convene an urgent meeting involving government, university management, staff unions and student representatives;
4. Develop a clear and publicly communicated timetable for resolving the industrial dispute and restoring academic activities;
5. Ensure that the security agencies operate within the law and respect the constitutional rights of citizens to peaceful assembly and expression; and
6. Make the restoration of academic activities at AAUA an emergency priority of the state government.
OUR CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER
Ondo State has a proud history of intellectual development and educational excellence. We cannot allow prolonged disputes, administrative inertia or avoidable confrontation to undermine that heritage.
The ADC will continue to stand with the people of Ondo State, particularly young people whose future is being affected by failures of governance.
*The ADC’s message to the students is simple: remain peaceful, remain law-abiding and continue to demand accountability through legitimate democratic channels. And our message to the government is equally clear: listen to the students, resolve the dispute and restore their classrooms.*
A government that listens to its people demonstrates strength. A government that responds to every grievance with force creates unnecessary tension.
Governor Aiyedatiwa still has the opportunity to turn this unfortunate episode into an opportunity for reconciliation and educational reform.
Ondo State needs classrooms filled with students, not streets filled with tension and blood.
The future of our children is too important to be sacrificed on the altar of administrative disagreement and ineffectiveness.
Enough of the crisis. Enough of the uncertainty. Let dialogue begin. Let academic activities resume. Let our students return to their classrooms.
Signed:
Hon. Remi Ofakunrin
Publicity Secretary,
African Democratic Congress (ADC), Ondo State Chapter