TRANSPORT CHALLENGES ON CAMPUS-UNIMAID

 

TRANSPORT CHALLENGES ON CAMPUS-UNIMAID

By David Arku Adamu

The first bell at the University of Maiduguri rings at 7AM, but for many students the day begins with a different clock: the one ticking down as they stand by the roadside waiting for a keke that may never come.

By 6:30AM, the campus roads should be alive with students hurrying to lectures. Instead, clusters of students linger at junctions, scanning for the familiar green and yellow of the tricycle taxis. For those who don’t catch one, the alternative is a long trek under the morning sun, and for some, a missing mark on the attendance sheet.

Obianuju Anthony, a Microbiology student, calls it the most stressful part of her semester. She wakes early, dresses for class, and still finds herself without transport. “I end up trekking to class, and that’s additional stress on top of everything else,” she said.

The consequences extend past fatigue. In practical sessions, lecturers lock doors once class begins, refusing late entry. That means Obianuju can’t sign the attendance register, can’t record observations in her manual, and risks being questioned later about work she couldn’t have completed if she wasn’t present. “It affects my grades in ways that have nothing to do with how well I understand the course,” she explained.

The financial strain has deepened the problem. Transport fares have nearly doubled compared to last semester, she said. While she acknowledges the Students’ Union Government’s attempt to introduce subsidised fares, she noted that in practice the SUG-affiliated kekes still charge the same as regular operators. She is calling on the SUG to intervene and ensure the subsidy reaches students as intended.

For Ayomide, an Accounting student, the daily commute has become a test of patience and budget. On one occasion he was heading to the complex but had no direct keke available. He paid for a ride to the park first, then paid again for a second leg to his destination. The double fare and the delay left him exhausted before lectures even started.

There are days he doesn’t make it at all. Waiting too long for a keke under high temperatures, he chose to skip class rather than trek. “I usually paid ₦1500 at most per week last semester. Now it’s not less than ₦2500,” he said.

Ayomide also praised the SUG president for introducing the subsidised transport scheme, but he urged that more subsidised vehicles be deployed to meet demand. Without that, he said, the initiative remains out of reach for most students.

The pattern is clear: transport scarcity is no longer just an inconvenience. It’s reshaping academic outcomes. Late arrival means missed attendance. Missed attendance means lost marks in practicals and assignments. And the rising cost is forcing students to choose between paying for transport and other essentials.

For students at UNIMAID, the struggle to get to class has become part of the curriculum, one that tests endurance as much as intellect. The question now is whether interventions can catch up with the scale of the problem before more grades pay the price.