Chief Adekunle Funmilayo, a lawyer, has issued a warning to the University of Lagos, UNILAG, threatening legal action if the institution proceeds with its plan to send a group of students to Russia for a year.
He has also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to step in and address the situation.
The university intends to send 17 second-year students studying Russian language abroad as part of their academic progression to the 300-level.
These students, who were admitted in the 2021/2022 academic session for a bachelor’s degree in Russian language, are being required to spend a mandatory year in Russia.
“The ongoing war in Russia is a source of trepidation and concern to the students and their parents and sponsors. It is not advisable to travel to Russia in its current state of war with its Ukraine neighbours,” Funmilayo wrote.
The lawyer alleged that the students were given an ultimatum to either travel to Russia for the program or face the possibility of dropping out or being withdrawn from the university.
Funmilayo criticized the university for failing to consider the financial burden of traveling to Russia, especially in the current economic climate, as well as the psychological stress caused by threatening students with expulsion if they cannot afford the trip.
In a petition to the President, he said: “The harsh economic situation and unstable foreign exchange were not taken into account in insisting that the students must go to Russia.
“The anticipated cost may rise to N20 million or more. Why must the university subject these innocent and poor Nigerians to such hardship to get a degree in the Russian Language?
“The students were not told from inception that going to Russia for a year would be mandatory.”
The lawyer said even if a trip to Russia for a year was a requirement, it could not be “cast in stone” due to the war with Ukraine and the economic situation.
The lawyer wrote: “We, therefore, appeal to you to prevail on UNILAG authorities to reconsider this matter to either allow the students to switch to other courses or let the third-year students be done without going to Russia.
“They are Nigerians and are entitled to be treated with some dignity in their quest for higher education.”
The lawyer copied the National Assembly, the National Universities Commission, NUC, the UNILAG Vice Chancellor, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts; the Dean of Student Affairs and the HOD of European Languages and Integration Studies.