A visit to the Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, the only institution of its kind in Nigeria reveals a concerning sight that speaks volumes about infrastructural neglect and administrative inertia. Scattered across the school’s landscape are dozens of grounded vehicles, rusting away and forming a bizarre, permanent fixture on campus. What should be serviceable assets have now turned into a junkyard, diminishing the institution’s visual and operational appeal.
Members of The Nigeria Education News team, during a recent tour of the campus, were stunned by the number of abandoned vehicles dotting the premises. Many of these vehicles, ranging from staff buses to pickup vans and utility cars, have been left in a state of decay for several years, overtaken by weeds and rust. What should be tools of efficiency have now become monuments of stagnation.
In conversations with students, a recurring phrase emerged: “They are our flowers now.” To many of the students, these grounded vehicles are no longer eyesores but a normalized part of campus life. “At first, we thought the vehicles would be fixed or removed,” said a 300-level student in the Faculty of Surveying and Geoinformatics. “But years passed, and nothing happened. Now, we joke that they’re the school’s landscaping project.”
The disturbing normalization of decay is reflective of a broader systemic problem. A female security staff, who has worked at the institution for over a decade, confirmed that the vehicles had been in that state “for ages.” According to her, there has been no intervention from the government, no funding for repairs, no plans for replacement, and no effort to repurpose or evacuate the damaged vehicles.
“The school management has done what it can,” she said. “But they can’t use their own salaries which are not even enough to repair vehicles. Government support is practically non-existent.”
Students also complained about the inconvenience the vehicle abandonment has created, not just aesthetically but functionally. “We often walk long distances across campus or rely on motorcycles because the school no longer has operational shuttle buses,” said another student. “And it’s embarrassing when guests or external examiners come and see the mess.”
This situation is particularly disappointing given the school’s national relevance. The Federal School of Surveying, Oyo, is the only tertiary institution in Nigeria focused solely on the training of surveyors and geospatial professionals. With such a critical mandate in a technologically advancing world, the school’s infrastructural state raises serious questions about the government’s commitment to technical education.
Efforts to speak with top management officials were unsuccessful during the visit, but a mid-level administrative officer hinted that the situation had been reported to the Federal Ministry of Works and Education multiple times over the years. “We submit our reports during budget planning every year,” he noted. “But it’s like throwing stones into a river you never hear back.”
Some staff members believe the problem also lies in a larger bureaucratic culture of reactive governance. “Nobody acts until there’s a viral outcry or a major scandal,” lamented a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Cartography. “We are supposed to be a model of precision and structure, but our environment contradicts everything we teach.”
In the face of this neglect, some students have proposed innovative alternatives, such as auctioning off completely irreparable vehicles and using the funds to rehabilitate others. But such initiatives would still require official approval and transparency, two things the students say are often lacking.
The growing graveyard of vehicles at the Federal School of Surveying reflects a rot that goes beyond rusted metal; it underscores the continued abandonment of specialized institutions that ought to be national assets. Without timely intervention, the institution risks falling further into disrepair, frustrating its staff and students, and undermining the credibility of its academic offerings.
Stakeholders are now calling on the Federal Government, through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and other intervention agencies, to visit the school, assess the situation first-hand, and provide adequate financial support for infrastructure rehabilitation, especially its transportation facilities.
As the academic year advances, and more students resume for the new session, the unsightly presence of these vehicles may become a rallying point for future student protests or union demands. But more urgently, it remains a symbol of how institutions that train the next generation of professionals are being left behind by the very system that birthed them.
