Shop owners inside and around the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) campus are facing displacement after receiving notices to vacate their business premises within 14 days — with no alternative locations provided by the university.
The notices, which appear to originate from the Office of the Vice-Chancellor, have affected businesses scattered across the campus, including those located behind the Department of Public Administration and Local Government (PALG) and other parts of the university grounds.
For many affected traders, the shock is not the eviction itself but the circumstances surrounding it — particularly the tight timeline and the absence of any resettlement plan.
“What shocked me most was not that we were asked to vacate, but the 14-day short notice,” said Nnaemeka Uzor, one of the affected business owners. “Who finds a shop and relocates in 14 days? And it’s not even as if we’re there on our own. The university put us there.”
Uzor added that the situation is particularly devastating for traders who had previously been displaced from Ogige market and had relocated to the university space seeking stability. “Now they are being asked to vacate in 14 days. That one is a death sentence,” he said.
Another affected trader, Paul Akpan Ekemini, who operates a shop behind PALG, described a confusing sequence of events in which the 14-day ultimatum appeared to have been issued and reissued under unclear circumstances. “We were given 14 days which was supposed to end yesterday, only for us to see them return on Tuesday with a paper from the office of the VC asking us to leave within 14 days,” he said. “The new 14 days started from the 13th and we only got to know about it on the 17th.”
The consequences of the mass eviction are expected to extend beyond the business owners themselves. Many of the affected shops serve as everyday conveniences for students — providing food, stationery, printing services, and other essentials. Observers have called on the university administration to weigh the ripple effects of the directive on the wider campus community before proceeding with demolitions.
While university authorities are yet to issue a public statement, critics acknowledge that reorganising the campus in line with a master plan may be a legitimate institutional goal. However, they argue that the process has been poorly handled.
