Medical Students of Kaduna State University (KASU) matched out in their numbers to protest the non accreditation of their course by the Nigeria University Commission (NUC).

The protesting students blocked the main entrance of the institution carrying placards with inscriptions such as; 'we are tired, accredit our faculty', 'fix Barau Dikko for our clinical' and 'this protest is the tip of the iceberg' among others.

One of the protesting students said the Faculty of Medicine started since 2008/09 academic session and none of the students has gone beyond 300 levels.

Speaking further, he said, "we were told that Barau Dikko Hospital would be upgraded to a Teaching Hospital so that we can utilise it for our clinical, but up till date the level of work in the hospital is not encouraging," he said.

Your Excellency Sir,
A NEED TO AVERT AN IMPENDING PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATION.
The above named students body wish to draw the attention of the state government under your able leadership to the need to avert an impending peaceful demonstration by the students.
This is due to the fact that our stay in the university is taking too long than necessary as a result of lack of an accredited facility for our clinical studies. This condition has crippled our ambitions as young individuals striving to study and contribute our quota in making Kaduna State and the nation at large great again.
It is no longer news that the medical students of Kaduna State University have been stranded for years due to lack of accreditation of her medical faculty. This situation has resulted to the most senior class now being stranded in 300Level after spending FIVE (5) YEARS in the university.
The faculty is also currently faced with an ugly situation of having SIX (6) sets of students (including the newly admitted) spread across 3 classes all due to lack of accreditation.
We have made efforts to draw the attention of the state government in different ways. Some among many of such measures are the presentations to various sub-transition committees, the peaceful demonstration staged by the students at the state secretariat on 9th September, 2015. The students were attended to by the commissioners of Health and Education.
A subsequent meeting was held on 11th September 2015 with representatives of the ministries, university authority, hospital management and the contractors handling some of the projects. During these meetings, it was resolved that by last week of October, 2015, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria should be expected for an accreditation visit to the university.
Like many promises in the past since the last administration, this was also not fulfilled with no one giving us a comforting explanation as to why the promise failed.
Our hope is even more dashed by the apparent silence on this very important issue at public hearings and press conferences especially when issues concerning Education and Health are being discussed.
The recent pronouncement by your administration to select and sponsor 30 (THIRTY) female students from across the state for medical studies abroad also calls for concern as to whether WE the medical students of the faculty of medicine Kaduna State University are of any value to the state.
Though a commendable move, it has however rendered us hopeless as our situation seems not to be getting the necessary attention of the government.
Sir, the Faculty of Medicine Kaduna State University is composed of hundred percent indigenes of Kaduna State and Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital is the largest state own hospital in the state.
These indices we expect should serve as the best and long lasting solution to the problem surrounding lack of qualified medical doctors in the state if given the priority it deserves.
Sir, our future has been spelled doomed amidst these years of stagnation and frustration. We have explored all possible ways to draw government’s attention to our plight but to no avail.
As law abiding citizens of Kaduna state that we all are, we acknowledge the importance of dialogue as a key to solving any problem but in a situation where such room is not available, we have decided to stage a spontaneous peaceful demonstration until a state of emergency is declared on the crisis facing the Faculty of Medicine, Kaduna State University and the Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital and accreditation by the Medical And Dental Council of Nigeria is obtained.
Thank you Sir.
SIGN
All Medical students,
Kaduna State University.
Contact: 08162382026

Cc:
Vice Chancellor, Kaduna State University.
The Speaker, Kaduna State House of Assembly.
Commissioner, Ministry of Health.
Commissioner, Ministry of Education.
Commissioner of Police.
State Security Service.
Human Rights Commission.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ).