…say all facilities are broken down
- We’re not aware- Student affairs’ dean
Students of the University of Abuja in the nation’s Federal Capital Territory have raised the alarm over the deplorable state of hostels in the institution.
They alleged that the poor state of the school’s hostels have become an impediment to their studies as they no longer had a conducive atmosphere for their academic activities. They claimed that their living standard as students had declined and the situation had continued to make learning more difficult for them.
According to them, since the hostel accommodation on campus remains the closest to the school, they have no other option but to continue to endure the poor state and standard of living in the facility.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the school campus lacked water supply, good toilets and enough rooms to accommodate the students. Also, the institution lacks enough lecturers and even a lecture theatre. The male hostels accommodate more than its capacity, they have no cleaners and they are surrounded by overgrown bushes from where dangerous reptiles pose a danger to students on a daily basis.
Some of the institution’s students, who pleaded anonymity, told our correspondent that none of the facilities in both the male and female hostels, respectively, was functional any more as every infrastructure on campus had become dilapidated, broken down and decrepit.
One of the students, who simply identified himself as Samuel, said, “Sorry to say, it is not only the hostels that are damaged. They also include the lecture theatre, water facility and many more. Currently, the University of Abuja has two hostels, a new and old hostel, and we still have mini and main campuses.
Because of the situation of the old hostel, students jam-pack themselves in the new hostel. Everything is bad. A room which is meant for four is now occupied by 13; because of the poor management of the new hostel, students take their bath outside the hostel. The bunks which are used in the new hostel are all sub-standard
“The mini campus hostel is worse than ours. I stay on the main campus. Everything in the old hostel is damaged; there are no cleaners. I moved to the new hostel because of the situation in the old hostel; that old hostel, people cannot stay there at all. Getting a space in the new hostel in UNIABUJA requires connection and you must also pay for that to get in.”
“These are the problems the poor and lonely people are facing in UNIABUJA. I complained to one of the Student Union Government aspirants, who is also influential in school, but I was told by my friend that it is the nature of Nigeria now.”
Another student, Ayuba, lamented that the new hostel, “which is less than a year old” and was now in the same deplorable state like the old one.
“Because of the situation of the old hostel, students jam-pack themselves in the new hostel. Everything is bad. A room which is meant for four is now occupied by 13; because of the poor management of the new hostel, students take their bath outside the hostel. The bunks which are used in the new hostel are all sub-standard.
“Students lie on the floor on their mattresses because the bunks are already damaged and the new hostel is not up to a year. Most of the things inside it have collapsed. Students just got allocated the hostel less than eight months ago.”
Another student explained that her faculty lacked lecture halls and adequate lecturers.
“My faculty has only 24 lecturers for up to 1500 students; with no lecture halls,” she said.
She also explained that staying in such uncomfortable environment was not their wish as there were no houses close to the campus for rent.
“Thousands of students are being given admission every year; these students will be allocated also the poor hostel accommodation. You can’t even find houses, at least, beside the school, that you can rent,” she said.
Yet another student lamented the unkempt state of the environment around the hostels and the danger posed to their health and well-being.
He said, “There are bushes everywhere; we kill snakes almost every day. Maybe the school is waiting till when one of the snakes bites us before they listen to our cries. A year ago, a student had an accident in front of the school because of bad roads. After the accident, the road was attended to; they built road block.
“And they knew the situation of the road before then because it was very dangerous for students to cross over. After this sad occurrence, they now know it is the right time to fix the road.
“That’s the reason I said maybe after a snake bites a student before the overgrown bush will be cleared.”
Shedding more light on the state of the female hostel, a student revealed that they had toilets, but which were not good enough. According to her, female students excrete on the floor without clearing it, thus contributing to the poor state of the
environment.
“There are toilets, but not all are in good state. Imagine girls defecating on the bathroom floors, expecting their maid to come and clear it for them. Even the toilets are not properly taken care of,” he said.
But the university Public Relations Officer, Mr. Garba Waziri, told our correspondent that it was not his duty but that of the dean of student affairs to monitor the students’ welfare.
“The dean of student affairs is accountable to the students; the dean of student affairs should have a report about the accommodation at any moment because he is the one that monitors the
students.
Reacting to the development, the Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. Alanana Osana Otaki, said he was not aware of the parlous situation of the hostels as he had just been appointed into the office.
“I am not aware of the poor state of hostels in the University of Abuja. I do not have the authority to speak on this. I have to seek authority from the vice chancellor. I was just appointed a month ago; I need permission from the management before speaking on this. The vice chancellor is in the best position to speak on this,” he
said.
