Students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), have protested the death of their colleague, Ifeoluwa Ayodele, citing poor healthcare services at the university’s medical center as a contributing factor.
PUNCH Metro reports that Ayodele, a 100-level Agricultural Economics and Farm Management student with asthma, was taken to the health center for treatment on Wednesday but died in the consulting room. Although the exact circumstances of Ayodele’s death remain unclear, students gathered in large numbers at the campus gate on Thursday to demonstrate against the state of the university’s healthcare services.
A student, speaking anonymously, claimed that Ayodele’s treatment was delayed by health officers because he could not provide an identity card. The student explained that the protest aimed to push for an improved and restructured healthcare system on campus.
The student expressed frustration over staff negligence, noting that they often delay attending to patients. He mentioned that the student arrived at the health center around 1 p.m., but was delayed until 6:50 p.m. and was declared dead around 10 p.m. due to not having his ID card. He emphasized that this incident marked the third similar occurrence in three months due to negligence and poor service delivery.
The Students’ Union President, Meshack Nwankwo, stated that the protest focused on the inadequate services of the health center, basing his statement on eyewitness accounts and those who took the deceased to the hospital.
The main focus of the protest was the poor service at the campus clinic, with students demanding improvements. Ayodele was unconscious upon arrival at the medical center, where his pulse was checked, and it was discovered he had died.
Nwankwo mentioned that the protest aimed to standardize and improve the health center’s services. While he did not directly attribute Ayodele’s death to negligence, he noted that three nurses attended to him but eventually found him deceased.
In a video, Vice Chancellor Olusola Kehinde addressed the protesters, stating that Ayodele was brought in already dead, and staff efforts to resuscitate him failed. According to Kehinde, friends of the deceased initially attempted to aid him by putting a spoon in his mouth and pouring water on him, which was later advised against by the FMC. At the health center, two nurses and a doctor found no pulse or heartbeat, indicating Ayodele was dead on arrival.
To avoid immediate shock, the doctor instructed the nurse to delay informing those who brought him, locking the consulting room door while attempting resuscitation, but it was unsuccessful.
