The students of Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun State, have vowed to boycott the 2025/26 second semester examination over the management’s refusal to issue them identity cards since the commencement of the academic session.
The students, in an open letter to the management signed by the President of Great Ife Students’ Union, Omobiriowo Isaac, and the General Secretary, Babatimehin Joy, which was obtained by Vanguard on Monday, stated that they were tired of the management’s excuses for not issuing them identity.
The Students’ Union disclosed that it had engaged the school management on the matter since the beginning of the academic session and listened to countless promises, which, until the ninth week of the second semester, had yielded no results.
While noting that many students face various degrees of harassment from security operatives over failure to identify themselves, others have had to lose the opportunity to apply for scholarships, and those in their final years were stuck in an attempt to register for the National Youth Service Scheme, NYSC, over management’s failure to issue identity cards.
The open letter read in part, “As students of Obafemi Awolowo University, we take pride in the image of our institution. We carry the Great Ife name with dignity. But how can we carry that name when we lack the most basic proof that we belong to this university? Students have no official means of identifying themselves, not on campus, outside, for opportunities, or even for security.
“Exams are approaching, and the same students who paid for ID cards still don’t have them. Therefore, we declare that If the university fails to issue ID cards to all students before the commencement of examinations, students will not sit for any examination.
“This is not a threat; it is a legitimate demand. It is a stand against administrative negligence. It is a call for dignity and accountability. We urge the university management to finalize and distribute ID cards to all students across faculties. We will no longer accept silence as a response. We will no longer accept delay as a strategy.
“And we will not go into the examination halls without our rightful identification as students of this great university.”
Reacting to the letter, the Dean of Students Affairs, Professor J. A. Odedire, in a press release on Monday, ascribed the delay in the issuance of the student’s identity cards to the decision to issue customized smart identity cards, saying the company has promised to make them available within the week.
“The Division of Student Affairs, during the meeting held with the leadership of the Great Ife Students’ Union on Thursday, 22nd of May, 2025, noted with serious concern the agitations of the generality of the students of Obafemi Awolowo University concerning the unexpectedly long delay in the production and delivery of the promised smart ID card.
“This unintended delay, which is attributable to the logistics of incorporating the smart features embedded in the ID card, has been addressed by the company charged with the production. The University authority is prioritizing ensuring that the first batch of the ID card is delivered by Wednesday (28/05/2025).
“The importance of a means of identification cannot be over- emphasized and the University Administration will do all within her powers to ensure that our students’ right is not tampered with in any way”, the statement reads.
