NIGERIA: Ibadan UCH Medical Students Protest 100 Days Of Power Outage, Demand Urgent Action

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria

Medical students of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have taken to the streets in protest over the persistent power outage that has left them in darkness for over 100 days.

The students, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “+100 Days of Darkness: Save UCH,” “Give Us Light,” and “Medical School Is Hard Enough—Give Us Light,” gathered at the office of the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Professor Jesse Otegbayo, to demand immediate restoration of electricity and water supply.

The protest, which has drawn widespread attention, coincides with a high-level meeting between the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, the UCH management, and other stakeholders at the hospital’s Conference Room.

The meeting is expected to address the prolonged electricity crisis and find lasting solutions to the erratic power supply that has disrupted medical training and patient care at the institution.

Students lament that despite several meetings with the hospital management, no concrete steps have been taken to resolve the crisis.

A former President of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union Government, Samson Samuel, expressed frustration over the situation, stating, “No light, no water. We shall continue this protest until our demands are met.”

Similarly, a former Speaker of the UI Students’ Union, Olamide Omotunde, highlighted their previous efforts to seek intervention. “We protested on January 26, 2025, to the State and Federal Secretariats in Agodi, Ibadan, hoping that management would act swiftly. However, nothing has changed. That’s why we decided to protest again after 100 days of darkness,” he said.

The ongoing power outage, which began in October 2024, has severely impacted students’ living conditions in halls of residence such as Alexander Brown Hall (ABH) and Falade Hall.

The lack of electricity has also affected critical hospital operations, raising concerns about the welfare of patients and medical personnel.