The importance of fuel cannot be overemphasized. Virtually everything we do requires fuel from the movement of people from one to the other to the transportation of goods and services.
The removal of subsidy on fuel has brought untoward hardship to students. The upkeep money we receive has been eroded by rising costs of food items and transportation.
Furthermore, the cost of accommodation has also increased because landlords are equally affected. Lecturers who hitherto printed out class materials have no choice but to increase the prices of their handouts.
We must also not lose sight of the increase in school fees both in public and private institutions. The University of Lagos is a case in point. The school fees jumped from N16,000 to the sum of N109,000.
It is the children of the poor that bear the brunt the most.
All these impacts will have effects on the academic performance of the students as they now go hungry due to the prices of food that have gone beyond the reach of the common man.
Finally, the withdrawal of subsidy will further harm students because crime rates will rise as cultism will become more rampant. Similarly, fornication will be on the rise among female students. It is highly recommended that government should as a matter of urgency introduce palliatives measures that will ameliorate the suffering of students and their parents.
- Adesewa Omoniyi, Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
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