Students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, have staged a protest over the death of their colleague, Ifeoluwa Ayodele, and what they describe as poor healthcare services at the university’s medical centre.
Ayodele, a 100-level student of Agricultural Economics and Farm Management, died at the health centre on Wednesday after allegedly being delayed in treatment due to lack of an identity card.
The students claim that Ayodele was rushed to the health centre on Wednesday afternoon but was not attended to promptly due to his inability to produce his ID card.
The delay in treatment allegedly led to his death, which has sparked outrage among the student body.
According to an anonymous student, “the staff members’ negligence is infuriating. They wouldn’t attend to you as fast as they should.
The boy got there around 1 p.m., but they delayed him until 6:50 p.m. and he was pronounced dead around 10 p.m. It was because he didn’t take his ID card along, so they didn’t attend to him fast. We’re advocating for change.”
The protest is the third similar occurrence in three months, with students citing repeated instances of negligence and poor service delivery at the health centre.
In a statement, the University’s Students’ Union President, Meshack Nwankwo, confirmed that the protest was primarily about the poor service of the health centre. He disclosed that eyewitnesses and those who rushed Ayodele to the hospital corroborated the account of events.
However, in a video clip obtained by our correspondent, Vice Chancellor Olusola Kehinde revealed that Ayodele was brought in dead and that staff members attempted to resuscitate him but were unsuccessful. Kehinde stated that Ayodele’s friends had attempted to revive him by putting a spoon in his mouth and pouring water on him, which made it difficult for medical staff to perform proper resuscitation efforts.
Kehinde emphasized that the university is taking steps to improve healthcare services on campus and ensure that such incidents do not occur again.
