We want to graduate and be Corpers, not corpses, Abia students protesting bewail

Embittered students of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU) in Abia State has embarked on a peaceful protest against the moribund state of Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road.

More so, they carry placards with inscriptions ‘Fix Umuahia-Ikot-Ekpene road’, ‘Enough is Enough’, ‘I want to graduate and be a Corper, not a corpse’, among others marched through major Umuahia streets.

“We are giving four days ultimatum to the state government to commence the palliative works on the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road,” said Chukwuma Ugochukwu, the president of MOUAU’s Students’ Union Government.

Meanwhile, in the spirit of expressing their displeasure over the inability of the Federal Government to fix the road and blamed the state for the road accidents that had claimed the lives of road users, especially students of the school, they called for immediate action to alleviate the suffering of road users and stop the occurrence of road accidents.

“Yesterday, a student of MOUAU was killed in an auto crash that involved an SUV and a truck which occurred on the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road. We are no longer comfortable with that road. We are asking that this road should be looked into with immediate effect,” explained Mr Ugochukwu.

Also, James Daniel, a student of MOUAU, noted, “In 2019, we were told that the road has been awarded, but the only work that we have seen is the construction of drainages leaving the road undone.”

Another student identified as Somto Chukwu, stated that frequent auto crashes on the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene road were a call on the government to match their words with action.