Management’s negligence to several complaints by students of the University of Ilorin in Kwara State, Nigeria, on the risk they face in getting water from the river at the school farm centre, has led to the death of a 100 level student.
Gatekeepers News reports that on Friday, January 28, 2022, the 100 level student, Ojo Tobi Ezra of the Faculty of Agriculture in UNILORIN, drowned while trying to fetch water at the river.
It was gathered that the deceased had accompanied a 400L student who was simply identified as Ruth to the farm with his motorbike, in order to assist her in wetting her seedbed. He, however, got drowned while getting the last bucket.
One of the students who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Gatekeepers News that “the incident happened in the afternoon, the Farm Practice is the phase two of this period, and we were asked to plant vegetables on the farm. We have to water it every time because of the Harmattan, but the school did not provide amenities like tap water that can be used to wet the plants, so we have to go to the river nearby to fetch water.”
According to the source, the river is very slippery and a lot of students fall and injure themselves while trying to get water.
The student said Tobi fell into the river and it took the intervention of the Unilorin Fire Service and Emergency Unit and ambulance to recover his body after about an hour.
“If they (Unilorin Fire Service and Emergency Unit) were there on time the guy would have survived,” the source noted.
Gatekeepers News sighted a circular sent to the 400 level students of the Faculty of Agriculture by the Management on suspension of farm practice activities due to Friday’s incident.
The circular from the Nigerian Association Of Agricultural Students (NAAS) reads: “This piece is to inform all 400level students of agriculture that are currently having FPT not to go to the farm again till further notice. This suspension of activity is due to the sardonic occurrence which cost us alive. in lieu to this, proper deliberation is ongoing as the management are on feet to put necessities in place. Stay safe and keep praying. May the Almighty see us through times and protect us against misfortune.”
The source recalled that sometime ‘between August and September of last year (2021)’, they (over 500 students) were on another farm which is close to the River Tobi fell into, for the first time to work and were greeted by many snakes.
“The snakes were just coming out, we saw about nine of them and when we complained to the official that was supervising our work at that time, we were told to continue that ‘it is part of learning’, some of the students had to kill the snakes themselves,” the student told Gatekeepers News, adding that “we had to name the farm ‘Snake Island’ because the snakes were much.
“A student got bitten by a snake while farming (a month later) and was treated in the school clinic.”
The source added that no effort was made by the school in ensuring safe farming for the students despite their life-threatening experiences.
Gatekeepers News gathered from another source that students are silent because many who reacted to previous incidents were rusticated last year.
