On Tuesday, tension erupted in Ibadan, Oyo State, as students of The Polytechnic, Ibadan, took to the streets to protest the recent decision to rename the institution.
The demonstration, which disrupted movement along Sango-Eleyele Road, left many commuters stranded for hours as the students barricaded the main entrances to the campus and blocked parts of the road.
The protest followed Governor Seyi Makinde’s announcement that the institution would now be known as Omololu Olunloyo Polytechnic, in honour of the late former governor of old Oyo State, Omololu Olunloyo, who recently passed away at the age of 89.
Olunloyo was the first Ibadan indigene to serve as governor of the old Oyo State.
Despite the government’s decision, the students expressed strong dissatisfaction, describing the renaming as unnecessary and an attack on the identity of the institution.
Eyewitnesses said the students shut down both main gates of the Polytechnic and blocked adjoining roads, forcing vehicles and pedestrians to seek alternative routes.
As of the time of filing this report, security agencies had yet to issue an official statement