Esther Oluku
As the University of Lagos (UNILAG) holds its 54th convocation ceremony this week, the school management has revealed that post-graduate academic gowns, which were paid for and scheduled for distribution to the graduating students, have been stolen.
According to the school management, the gowns were stolen and the bus in which they were being conveyed vandalised.
Many of the students, who were scheduled to collect their academic gowns, expressed frustration in the inability of the school to provide the gowns after a long wait.
The management of the university School of Post-Graduate Studies (SPGS) in a text message sent to post-graduate students said: “Dear graduate, we regret to inform you that the distribution of SPGS academic gowns is now suspended. Sadly, the remaining gowns were stolen, and our bus vandalised this afternoon.”
However, further checks on the incident revealed that the bus, which was used to convey the gown was vandalised by some students who lost the patience after waiting for a long time.
Also, students who were still waiting on queue to collect their gown were asked to go home, and their gowns would be dispatched to their various houses.
According to one of the students who pleaded anonymity, “Those PG guys said we should go home that they would send dispatch rider to deliver it as long as you had your number written on the list.”
Also reacting to the incident, another student said: “Should we tag that ‘stealing’ self? You restricted people to two options: either to hire a gown or buy outright.
“They paid the prescribed fees, and when it was time to give them convocation kits, it became a tug of war. Your action and inaction resulted in their reaction. ‘No one wants to agree for anybody’.”
