STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS STRUGGLE AS UNILORIN’S NEW TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM TIGHTENS PRESSURE

Ibiyeye Enoch

The University of Ilorin’s new transportation system is placing added strain on student entrepreneurs who are already struggling to balance academics with running small businesses. For many undergraduates, operating a business on campus has become less of a choice and more of a survival strategy driven by rising living costs, limited allowances and the desire for financial independence. But this academic session has introduced fresh challenges. Transportation delays, reduced availability of campus shuttles and longer waiting times are making daily routines more difficult, particularly for students who depend on mobility to serve customers.

One of those affected is a 400-level student who runs a pastry-baking business to support herself. She described her daily life as an exhausting cycle of overnight work followed by early-morning academic demands. “I bake every night against the next day… When I come back, it’s the same pattern,” she said, explaining that almost every hour is split between preparing orders and trying to keep up with lectures and assignments.

She started the business during her Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), a period when academic pressure was lighter and her schedule more flexible. With the resumption of full academic activities, however, the strain has intensified. “I started when I was doing my SIWES so I didn’t feel much heat, but now it’s been really crazy,” she said.

Her decision to go into baking, she explained, was driven by necessity rather than convenience. “I just wanted to do something for myself,” she said. “I’ve had a passion for baking for a while, but it got to a point where lack of funds were pressing and I felt like I had to do something.”

Under the new transportation system, she now faces longer queues at campus shuttle parks, unpredictable transport flow and higher fares. These challenges, she said, make it harder to meet early-morning delivery schedules and limit the number of customers she can reach in a day.

Many student entrepreneurs share similar concerns, noting that time spent waiting for transportation is time lost from studying, production or customer service. For those whose businesses rely on timely movement across campus, the delays have become a major obstacle.

The baker admitted that combining academics with business has become almost overwhelming. “I don’t know if I’ve been able to strike a balance… it’s been very, very stressful,” she said.

Her experience reflects a wider pattern among students who run small-scale enterprises such as food delivery services, thrift sales and other side hustles. With transportation challenges now added to academic pressure, some fear burnout, declining income and, in extreme cases, the possibility of shutting down their businesses altogether.

As the semester progresses, affected students continue to call for improvements to the transportation system, arguing that a more efficient structure would not only ease academic stress but also sustain the informal entrepreneurial ecosystem that many students rely on to survive on campus.