Posted by The Port Harcourt Telegraph on
The buses arrived Yenagoa loaded with angry students. They had traveled for hours from Port Harcourt.
The buses arrived Yenagoa loaded with angry students. They had traveled for hours from Port Harcourt.
They were obviously beyond themselves in anger as their mood showed, and they were determined to lay their complaints at the feet of the man many refer to as the Governor General of the Niger Delta, Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha.
At the bottom of the whole affair was the recent decision by the authorities of the University of Science and Technology to re-classify their status.
All along, students of Bayelsa origin had enjoyed indigenous status, meaning they were exempt from paying tuition fees.
But, a new university guideline has robbed them of the privilege.
Why the decision by a Rivers institution to collect fees from other Nigerians including Bayelsans would raise such a dust remains quite unclear.
But it may not be unconnected with the feeling that Bayelsa which was part of the old Rivers State has a stake in UST.
Already, the Bayelsa state government is at the Supreme Court where it is challenging the assets sharing arrangement used after the birth of the central Ijaw speaking state.
Eyewitnesses told this publication that at the outskirts of the state capital, the students disembarked and made it on foot into town.
It is doubtful the police were aware of their mission.
Sources say that at a point, policemen released warning shots but the students continued their forward march, their placards held over their heads.
At Creek Haven, Governor Alamieyeseigha eventually received the students who told him point blank they were prepared for a showdown, but first wanted to intimate the governor general.
They said the reclassification exercise had brought hard times, stressing they could no longer bear the financial burden.
Addressing the students Governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha urged them not to take the law into their hands. He said it was necessary for them to conduct themselves with decorum at all times, saying such a posture is central to the attainment of life-time ambition.
Alamieyeseigha reminded them that the issue of the sharing of assets and liabilities between the Bayelsa and Rivers governments is at the Supreme Court awaiting determination.
He declared, "We are brothers and we must always uphold the tenets of the brotherhood."
He spoke further, "We belong to one indivisible country and there are rules and regulations regulating our behaviour. We have to abide by regulations."
Alamieyeseigha advised them to be patient, assuring them he would take up the matter at a later date with his Rivers counterpart, Dr. Peter Odili.
Commending them for been law abiding, the governor urged them to assert their right non-violently, adding that his administration would continue to place appropriate premium on educational advancement.