The Lagos State chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students has called for stricter enforcement of laws banning unregistered and unroadworthy trucks across major roads in the state following the deaths of two students of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology in a fatal accident.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the state NANS Joint Campus Committee Chairman, Abdul-Raheem Abdul-Quadri, and Public Relations Officer, Ridwan Ajayi, on Monday.

PUNCH Metro had earlier reported that the two students died in a multi-vehicle collision that occurred on Saturday, November 8, 2025, at the Powerline Junction, inward Ikorodu Roundabout, Lagos.

According to NANS, the deceased students were identified as Oluwaseyitan Afolabi Emmanuel, a newly admitted 200-level Direct Entry student of Banking and Finance, College of Applied Social Sciences, and Ayomide Jagun, a 300-level student of Mechatronics Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology.

The statement read in part, “Lagos State Axis expresses its deepest grief and solidarity with the entire community of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology over the devastating loss of two promising students in the tragic road accident that occurred on the morning of Saturday, November 8, 2025, at Powerline Junction, inward Ikorodu Roundabout.”

NANS cited reports from the university management and the Students’ Consultative Assembly, confirming that while earlier reports suggested a higher casualty figure, only two of the deceased were students of LASUSTECH.

According to preliminary findings by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, the accident was caused by an unregistered truck loaded with sand, which suffered brake failure, resulting in a multi-vehicle collision that claimed lives and left several others injured.

Describing the tragedy as preventable, NANS condemned what it called the nation’s “recurring culture of negligence and infrastructural failure”.

“As the umbrella body representing the collective interest of all students across Lagos State tertiary institutions, NANS JCC Lagos is deeply pained by this preventable tragedy,” the statement continued.

“We mourn not just as fellow students but as a family wounded by the nation’s recurring culture of negligence and infrastructural failure.

“We emphasise that no Nigerian student’s dream should be buried on the road to knowledge. Every life lost to avoidable accidents is a silent indictment of the system’s failure to prioritise public safety, transport regulation, and student protection,” the students’ union added.

The association called on the Lagos State Government, particularly the Ministry of Transportation, to intensify enforcement against unregistered and unroadworthy trucks plying major routes.

It also urged the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to conduct an immediate assessment of accident-prone corridors within Ikorodu and its environs, and the LASUSTECH management to strengthen its student welfare and safety coordination mechanisms in partnership with LASTMA and other agencies.

“The LASUSTECH management must deepen its collaboration with safety agencies to prevent a recurrence of this tragedy,” NANS said.

Extending condolences to the bereaved families, NANS added, “We extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of Oluwaseyitan Afolabi Emmanuel and Ayomide Jagun, to the management and students of LASUSTECH, and to all who mourn this painful loss.

“Their dreams were bright, their futures were valid, and their memories will remain eternal within the collective conscience of the Nigerian student community.”

Meanwhile, the LASUSTECH management, through its spokesperson, Lanre Kuye, had, on Sunday, also mourned the victims, describing the incident as a painful loss to the university community.

The recent tragedy adds to a growing number of road crashes in Lagos State involving heavy-duty vehicles.

Just last week, a tricyclist was killed after a truck crashed into three vehicles at the Ekoro Junction along the Abule-Egba/Command Road.

Less than 24 hours later, at least eight people were hospitalised when another truck rammed into eight vehicles on the Otedola Bridge section of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Wednesday night.

The Teens Evolution Conference 2.0 was held in Mowe, Ogun State, on Thursday, with speakers urging pupils to reject the “school is a scam” narrative and embrace learning as a tool for empowerment.

According to the convener and head of Bimpe Olubola Akinteye Foundation, Mrs Bola Akinteye, the conference aimed to push back the belief that formal education has lost its value.

The event, themed “Building Human Capacity,” convened secondary school pupils and young adults from across the state.

Speaking, Akinteye, said the initiative aimed to reshape perceptions around education and personal development.

Drawing from her experience growing up, Akinteye added that the foundation was created to help teenagers and youths develop themselves and use their time productively.

Akinteye said, “School is not a scam. I always tell people, especially the youths, to invest in knowledge and seek more because nothing you learn in school is a waste.”

She further urged the participants to set clear goals and keep the right company.

“Building a tactical team is key because your network determines your net worth,” she said.

“Choose people who can be your goalkeepers, defenders, strikers and midfielders, people who push you toward your goals.”

Also speaking, one of the event coordinators, Ebele Akinteye, described the conference as a movement designed to help youths discover themselves and manage their time purposefully.

“School is not a scam — it’s important to be both book and street smart,” she added.

Co-founder of the foundation, Tolulope Olugbenga, said seven teenagers received support for their 2026 UTME registration, while others got awards and national competition slots in recognition of merit and commitment.

“The certificates given to speakers and students are to show appreciation and encourage community building,” he noted.

The conference featured keynote speeches, interactive sessions and recognition awards geared towards empowering teenagers aged between 13 and 21.

Keynote speaker, Mr Ajani Adeniyi, who spoke on “Becoming the Future You Want to Be: Building Capacity Beyond the Class,” stressed that success requires more than academic knowledge.

“Building capacity involves developing soft skills, pursuing passion and interests, and seeking mentorship and role models,” he noted.

Another speaker at the event, Mrs Temitope Seweje, advised the students to make positive choices despite peer pressure, especially in politics.

Seweje said, “Politics is a game and it has both good and bad sides, but you choose the part you want to go for.

“We need more people with a positive mindset to change the narrative in politics.”

Participants, including Head Boy of Community High School, Adesan, Udo Joshua, said the programme reshaped their view on leadership and learning.

“My expectations for this programme have been met. I have gained knowledge that reshaped my thinking as a student and as a teenager,” he said.

Similarly, Oluwaseyi Jesudetan of Leadership Cornerstone College said it strengthened her resolve to embrace education.

“I’ve learned that I can face my fears regardless of what is happening. Education is not a scam but a stage where we learn things that even the world can’t teach us,” she said.

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The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has stated that the ministry will collaborate with the Giessen-Friedberg Chamber of Commerce in Germany to leverage the skills of Nigerian TVET graduates, aiming to help address the skilled manpower gap in Germany.

Alausa stated this when he received a delegation from the Chambers led by the Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Matthias Leder, according to a statement issued by the GCOC on Wednesday

The minister said the Federal Government has revitalised all technical colleges to equip young Nigerians with practical skills that meet the nation’s technical manpower needs and position them for global opportunities.

“We will now work to set up a technical working group to begin to draft the MoU with you, and we will feed these students in our technical school to the pathway. We will do it in such a way that you will also come in for the assessment of these students while they are in school and even the ones we have trained.

“The ones that your chamber deems fit to travel, we will follow through the processes that we will put in place up to getting training visa from the German embassy,” he said.

Responding to Leder’s remarks on legal labour migration, Alausa said Nigeria is building a pool of young talents capable of bridging the skills gap both locally and internationally, emphasising that this initiative is not brain drain but the export of Nigerian skills and expertise.

The minister said the first cohort of 250,000 participants under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training programme has commenced training, with a target to train one million young Nigerians.

He said the government is currently implementing the Dual Mandate Training programme free of charge in all technical colleges and has mapped out industries where participants will undergo “Student Field Training” to acquire both theoretical knowledge and practical skills.

“When we met last year, in November, we learnt from what you said about this Dual Mandate Training, and I am happy to report to you that we have implemented that in all our technical colleges.

“The Federal Government has announced that going to our technical colleges is going to be free. We are paying everything so it’s free and we have seen the surge of enrollment in our technical colleges has gone up by 400% and we are going to continue this and increase more enrollment,” he stated.

The minister said the government has also mobilised funding from the World Bank to build workshops in all the federal technical colleges as well as some states technical colleges.

He commended Giessen-Friedberg Chamber of Commerce of Germany for promoting Dual Vocational Training in Nigeria in partnership with Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture and other Chambers of Commerce and said the government needs to take ownership of the programme to ensure sustainability.

In his remarks, Leder said between 2012 and 2018, 600 trainers and trainees were supported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Giessen-Friedberg with vocational training in partnership with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ogun State Council of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian German Business Association.

According to Leder, Dual Vocational Training provides the easiest solution to skills acquisition with a view to solving some of the most complex challenges in industrial growth.

He said the Chamber has selected 18 Nigerians through a rigorous competitive process to begin learning the German language, after which they will be deployed to industries in Germany to undertake a three-year Dual Vocational Training programme.

TVET has seen significant improvements in the last two years, particularly with the Nigerian government’s initiatives.
Recently, the Federal Government has approved N120 billion to strengthen TVET programmes nationwide, aiming to provide at least 650,000 young Nigerians with skills in technology, trades, and digital areas over the next two years.

The National Board for Technical Education also introduced reforms to harmonise and strengthen the National Diploma framework across Nigeria’s TVET sector, enhancing institutional credibility and creating clearer progression pathways for students.

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