Sowore knocks OAU over proposed dress code

Omoyele Sowore
Omoyele Sowore

Former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore has criticised the proposed dress code policy by the management of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, describing it as a misplaced priority and a sign of decline in Nigeria’s higher education system.

Mr Sowore, an alumnus of the University of Lagos, reacted on a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday following widespread backlash over the leaked dress code document, which recommends rustication of students for wearing dreadlocks, tattoos, heavy makeup, sagging trousers and other so-called “indecent” fashion choices.

“When the university authorities of one of Nigeria’s oldest universities can’t distinguish between ‘bomb’ and ‘bum’ and think being indecently dressed should lead a student to be rusticated for one or two semesters, then you know Nigeria universities are gone,” Sowore wrote.

He continued, “It is troubling to see that the university authorities appear unable to distinguish between genuine threats and perceived ‘indecent dressing.’ The notion that a student could face rustication for one or two semesters due to dress code violations suggests a misunderstanding of priorities and a disconnect from the realities of modern education.”

The dress code policy, drafted by OAU’s division of student affairs in May 2023 and reviewed by the legal committee, prescribes rustication for offences such as wearing transparent clothes, bomb shorts, tattoos, dreadlocks, coloured hairstyles and kissing or hugging the opposite sex on campus.

However, the university management has since clarified that the document being circulated on social media has not been officially approved by its governing council.

OAU spokesperson Abiodun Olarewaju told reporters on Thursday that the dress code is still in draft form and undergoing “finishing touches.”

He stated that the intent behind the proposed policy is to promote decency, citing the university’s duty to graduate students “in character and in learning.”

Meanwhile, the university’s students’ union has outrightly rejected the draft policy, describing it as outdated and repressive.

In a joint statement, union executives said the policy infringes on students’ constitutional rights to personal liberty, freedom of expression and individuality.

“The Great Ife Students’ Union is reaffirming its strong opposition to the trending alleged university management’s consideration of a dress code policy,” the statement read.

“We remain committed to protecting our rights.”

The union called on students to resist what it described as attempts to police their appearance and urged the management to focus on more pressing issues affecting students’ welfare and academic growth.

The controversy has sparked wider debate online, with critics accusing the university of moral policing and misplacing priorities at a time when Nigerian tertiary institutions face challenges like inadequate funding, infrastructural decay and academic disruption due to industrial actions.