Welcome, address by Ahmed Folorunsho Adekunle popularly known as Shelter of Freedom to both new and returning students of Adekunle Ajasin Akungba Akoko Ondo State.
With joy and happiness in my heart I welcome every new student to school and the Akungba community, I pray you all have an amazing campus experience and memories of good as an undergraduate. The journey is not a journey of one month neither is it six months it’s obviously an unavoidable journey of four years which gives you the opportunity to learn and unlearn, do well to learn the good, and unlearn the bad for the sake of your survival.
Just like I penned out in my previous article that exposes the odd regular trademark of Akungba landlords and caretakers, the need to consistently remind and wake slumbering minds of the staylites and inform the freshers with virgin minds of the unjustified extortion and oppression of our students living outside the campus will keep rising until the needful is done.
It was of great joy and happiness getting heartfelt assurances and glittering promises from the office of Dean of students affairs, all these preceded the previous article which agitated for welfarism of the students outside campus.
Nevertheless, the new students need to bring down the volume of the excitement in their hearts to avoid falling victim to all forms of extortions by caretakers, landlords, and some kangaroo agents.
Agreement form should be read carefully and understood and in case of necessity AAUA LAW CLINIC is the best for that service to avoid unnecessary error and disputes with landlord and caretaker.
Always know the worth of any house before payment such as in areas of security, water, areas, and location. Differentiate N70,000 from 100 houses. Avoid full payment rather than pay 70 per cent if there is still anything yet to be fixed in your new apartment, it’s slippery and easy to say “we will fix it” before payment than fixing after payment.
Always note that maintenance of things that are intact before you packed in should be maintained by you such as socket, water tap, and other mini equipment and gadget.
Enjoy your stay and don’t be too quick to make clingy friends with people you don’t really know much about in your apartment, it only takes a little time to realize the good, the bad, the friendly, and the pest, don’t end up with a circle of neighbors that will set your feet on the pact of lifetime regrets, be civil and formal in your engagements but be watchful.
Avoid embarrassment by paying your security and electricity bill. Always put aside the thinking that without light we won’t pay for our electricity bills.
Also appealing to the school management and the student union to help look into the illegal extortion and oppression by both the landlords and caretakers because our students who live both on-campus and off-campus are disheartened in areas of shelter and accommodation.
Other recommendations which will bring sanity to the relationship of students and landlords/caretakers are as follows:
Creation of a platform that will listen and hastily act on the complaints of the students outside campus.
Partnership with the state housing commission to bring about good town planning in Akungba.
Marking down those devastated houses that are not suitable and safe for living.
Regulation of house rents to avoid unjustified increment and exorbitant fee with peace dialogue with the indigene.
The welfarism of the students should be the priority of the Students Union and school management and I hope that a feasible necessary action will follow this up.
This piece was published on AAUA Insider with minimal editing to preserve the original message of the author.
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