The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Southwest Zone D has issued an urgent plea to state governments and legislative houses across the region to intervene in a burgeoning housing crisis and arbitrary tuition hikes.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday in Osogbo, the student leadership warned that the skyrocketing costs of education and living are pushing students toward homelessness and widespread unrest.
At the center of the association’s demands is a call for the southwestern states of Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Ekiti, and Ondo to adopt student-sensitive tenancy regulations.
Comr. Adeyemo Kayode, speaking for the student body, pointed to the Lagos State Tenancy Bill of 2025 as a progressive model.
This legislative framework, if replicated, would restrict shylock landlords from demanding multiple-year upfront rent and establish mediation structures to prevent the arbitrary price spikes that have seen some off-campus apartments in Ondo and Ibadan climb as high as ₦600,000 to ₦1.3 million annually.
The current economic climate has made housing a significant barrier to tertiary education.
According to student leadership, the cost of securing a roof now frequently rivals or exceeds actual tuition fees, with many students spending nearly half of their total income on rent, a figure far beyond the global 30% affordability benchmark.
This financial strain is compounded by Nigeria’s inflation rate, which moderated to 15.10% in January 2026 but remains heavily felt in the education sector where costs surged by over 22% year-on-year.
The association further condemned the unilateral increase of school fees by several tertiary institutions, which they claim was done without consultation with student unions.
NANS also issued a seven-day notice of engagement, effective from February 18, 2026. This ultimatum directs affected institutions to open immediate dialogues with student representatives to review and potentially reverse these increments, warning that the failure to do so could lead to a total shutdown of academic activities across the region.
Despite the local grievances, the student body lauded the federal government for its commitment to educational equity. Comr. Kayode specifically commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the establishment and continued funding of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND).
The association described the loan scheme as a landmark intervention that has provided a vital lifeline for hundreds of thousands of indigent students, easing the immediate pressure of tuition payments even as the battle for affordable housing continues.
The student leadership concluded by reiterating that education should not be a privilege reserved for the wealthy.
They emphasized that unless state governments take decisive action to curb exploitative rental practices and stabilize institutional fees, the mental health and academic performance of the nation’s future leaders will continue to deteriorate.