GEOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECT OF SUBSIDY REMOVAL ON TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OF SCHOOL CHILDREN IN OYO METROPOLITAN AREAS OF OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Geography and Social Studies are problem-solving, man-environment interactions, decision-making, and urban planning. The matter of subsidy removal has become a serious threat to humanity, and Oyo metropolis is not alone in the issue of fuel price increases, which affect all facets of lives. The study therefore examines the geographic analysis of the effects of subsidy removal on the transportation system of schoolchildren in Oyo metropolitan areas of Oyo State, Nigeria. This study adopted a descriptive survey and was carried out in the Oyo metropolitan area of Oyo Township. Specifically, Oyo Town has four local governments: Atiba, Afijio, Oyo West, and Oyo East. The sample for the study considered four hundred and 120 respondents. The researcher adopted stratified random sampling techniques to draw out the sample for the study. Using stratified random sampling, eight (8) areas were drawn for the study. Out of the eight (8) areas randomly selected, twenty (20) persons were randomly selected from the eight (8) areas selected, making one hundred and sixty (160) respondents. The areas randomly selected are Sabo and Asipa from Atiba, Onireke and Aketan from Oyo West, Ajagba and Mobolaje from Oyo East, and Ilora and Fiditi from Afijio Local Governments, respectively. The research questions raised were answered using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation, while the hypotheses were tested with a t-test using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science). The findings of the study revealed that subsidy removal leads to an increase in transportation costs for schoolchildren (M = 1.44, SD = 0.547), which usually affects their means of getting to school on time. It also revealed that subsidy removal may lead children to walk to school (M = 1.48, SD = 0.63) and usually affect schoolchildren's performance in school. This study, therefore, concluded by focusing on a geographic analysis of the effects of subsidy removal on the transportation system of schoolchildren in Oyo metropolitan areas of Oyo State, Nigeria. It concluded that better means of transportation should be put in place to ameliorate people’s stress. The study therefore recommends, among others, that the government should provide standard transportation systems at a subsidised price for the students that will foster schoolchildren getting to school very early without much stress that can create fatigue in the children in schools.