From a N25,000 bed-space selling for as high as N90,000, to not-enough-rooms and terrible state of facilities, JUDE OSSAI, CLEMENT IDOKO, OLUWOLE IGE, WALE AKINSELURE and KASALI SEGUN report the bittersweet experiences of students across tertiary institutions in Nigeria.
Conducive living facilities for students across the country constitute a vital requirement for a smooth education experience in universities. Sadly, with the number of admission seekers, and even with the seemingly low figure of those who are eventually admitted, many universities don’t seem adequately equipped to accommodate the students, leaving them to resort to off-campus alternatives.
However, with the reports from across the country, the available facilities within the campuses in some schools don’t even seem habitable enough for humans. From Abuja to Lagos to Ibadan and even to Enugu in the South-East, the reports are a mix of good, bad and the downright ugly.
‘A room for eight students is occupied by 30 to 36 students in UNIABUJA’
Some students of the University of Abuja (UNIABUJA) have expressed concern over the acute shortage and deplorable condition of hostel accommodation in the university. For unity and scholarship, UNIABUJA was established on January 1, 1988 (under Decree No. 110 of 1992 as amended) as a dual-mode university with the mandate to run conventional and distance learning programmes.
Several years after academic work began in the university in 1990 in the Gwawalada mini campus, hosted in three blocks of buildings meant for a primary school, infrastructure challenge continues to stare the institution in the face, in spite of its location in the nation’s capital city.
Findings by the Nigerian Tribune revealed that the hostels are overcrowded because of inadequate rooms to accommodate students who desire to stay on campus. As a result of distance and cost of accommodation off-campus, many students prefer to manage in available spaces in the hostels.
The official price for hostel accommodation at the old and new FCDA hostels for both male and female students is N13,000 each, while at the main campus (permanent site) the price is N15,000 for both male and female hostels. However, the new female hostel also located at the Main Campus of the university costs N25,000 per student.
Some students, however, alleged underhand dealings in securing the accommodation in spite of the deplorable condition of the hostels. One of the students, who simply gave his name as Garba, said all the facilities in the hostels are damaged because they are overcrowded.
He said: “You can imagine a room that is designed to accommodate eight students being occupied by 30 to 36 students in some cases. The facilities are overstretched. The fans are bad and you have to fix everything, including wardrobe, yourself. We know that the environment is not healthy but everyone has to manage because, when you look around yourself, this is about the closest place to the school. Some of the students like myself cannot afford to pay the exorbitant rent outside the university environment.
“I have stayed in the old male hostel on this main campus for two years. The major challenge is the overcrowding of hostels because of squatting. We have water; we used to have the problem of water but now we have dedicated boreholes even though the hostels are surrounded by bushes.”
On whether the management was aware of the condition in the hostels, Garba said the school authorities were aware of everything that happens on the campus. He, however, noted that what is needed is to build more hostels for the students. He insisted that with the number of students, there was no way the facilities could be maintained.
Another student, who chose not to be named, said the experience at the hostels on the main campus was far better than what was obtainable at the mini campus.
He said: “I was lucky to get a space on the main campus because they are allocating the hostels now. Everything in the old hostel is bad. I paid to be able to get a space in the new hostel. That is what UNIABUJA is. If you are not ready to part with something, nothing works for you.”
A Geography student, simply identified as Godwin, said the challenge of accommodation in University of Abuja was a usual occurrence. He said when he applied and couldn’t get allocation, he decided to stay off campus. He called on the Federal Government to intervene by improving on the infrastructure in the school to reflect a university in the Federal Capital Territory.
“I hear them talking about attracting foreign students to Nigerian universities. How is that possible? You don’t expect a student from a foreign country to come and manage things the way we do. I mean, let’s begin to do things correctly. I don’t think any university around has as much land as UNIABUJA, but where are the buildings?” he queried.
When contacted, Head of Information of the University, Mr Habib Yakoob, told Nigerian Tribune that the management of the university was aware of some of the challenges and was taking steps to address them.
He said: “As you rightly know, University of Abuja is strategically located to have influx of candidates into the university, particularly because of the vice chancellor’s transformative style. So many students want to come in. There is no doubt that more hostels need to be built for our students. The vice chancellor is working hard at the moment on that, particularly how to enter into Public Private Partnership for the establishment of more hostels to accommodate many of our students.
“The university has strict rules against squatting. In fact, before you are allocated a hostel, it is expected that you sign an undertaking and part of it is that you are not going to ‘squat’ anybody.”
‘In Unilag, a N25,000 bed-space can be resold for N190,000’
A 200 level student of the University of Lagos, Tobi Ojewande, said the bed-space price tag is dependent on the bargaining power between the students looking for the bed-space and those who already got it but looking for whom to sell to. According to him, the bed-space is between the range of N80,000 and N90,000. He noted that it is usually higher than the legal clearing of the bed-space, which is N25,000.
“Sometimes, they call exorbitant prices, but it depends on how you bargain with them. For example, they can tag a bed-space for N80,000 to N90,000, which was legally cleared for N25,000. Squatting is different from the sales of bed-space. Squatting is when you can just join those who are already in the hostel illegally. The squatting price tag is contingent upon your bargaining power just like bed-space. It is actually between the range of N15,000 and N30,000, with the agreement to sort the coordinator of hostel activities, who is generally referred to as porter with a certain amount of money to be paid weekly, once in a semester, and monthly,” he said.
On a departmental social media group chat organised by the students themselves, the reporter saw the advertisement of bed-spaces for different hostels with the inscription of ‘dm if interested’.
“Jaja Hall available for 95k…. DM if interested. Radiography available for 100k. DM. Moremi squatting space available, F block, available for 60k,” the student stated.
Explaining the reasons students sell their bed-spaces, a 300-level student of Law, Sola Saka, said the students might be in need of money to get a private hostel outside the school, which is probably expensive. She added that some might sell their bed-spaces for other reasons.
She noted that students coming from a far distance would have no other option than to buy it for that exorbitant price, adding that the students sell Moremi bed-space for N110,000, while Queen Amina Hall goes for N90,000.
“They sell the bed-spaces as if they want to buy lands. In fact, it would be shocking the rate they sell these bed-spaces. Someone said she wanted to sell a bed-space at Moremi for N190,000, while one other person said she wanted to sell one at Queen Amina Hall for N150,000,” she said.
Moreso, the convenience facilities of the hostels of this institution are considered an eyesore. This was the situation, when Nigerian Tribune reporter visited to get a clearer picture. For Jaja Hall, it looked nice on the outside, but on the inside, the sight is heartbreaking when there is an attempt to use the restroom of the hostel. The stench of the lavatory was enough to put one off, while the dirty and over-used nature of the water closet was a deal breaker.
Another hostel visited was a female hostel, Queen Amina Hall. Although better off than Jaja, it wasn’t in the best of conditions.
But the vice-chancellor of University of Lagos, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, had said though the university was facing serious accommodation challenges, more efforts were being made by the authorities to collaborate with private investors and philanthropists to build more hostel facilities for students.
While putting the current students’ population of the university at 57,000, he noted that less than 25 per cent of the figure are able to secure accommodation on campus.
The others, he pointed out, do look for accommodation elsewhere in town around the campus.
He, however, assured the students that the school authority was working seriously to increase the water supply and also make the entire hostel facilities more conducive.
‘With ongoing renovations, UI’s hostel facilities are a bit manageable’
Pressed to urinate, the Nigerian Tribune reporter, already loosening the black belt of his trousers, approached the toilet of C-block of Tedder Hall, University of Ibadan. However, welcomed by stagnant water at the entrance, stench of urine and chocolate-coloured urine point, the writer zipped up and zoomed out of the toilet with the speed of light. Holding the pee, the reporter approached neighbouring Mellanby Hall. Unknown to him, he would have to further strain his bladder as the situation was the same, but this time, complemented with broken tiles, termites-infested bathroom doors and stained urinary points. Dressed in a purple coloured vest and a patterned Ankara wrapper, one of the cleaners was seen battling, in the stench, to clean the dirt and make the toilet somewhat useable for the students. From Mellanby to Tedder, Queen Idia and Kuti halls, some students across floors are quick to keep their toilets under lock and key, once made clean by the cleaners, to prevent others from messing it up.
Similar to a dark spot on white apparel, any visitor could mistake the repainted walls of the halls to also mean that the toilets are also sparkling. Last year, in response to the outcry by current and former students that there was need to revamp facilities of the 71-year-old university, the Professor Idowu Olayinka-led management engaged contractors to renovate facilities in the 10 halls of the university. Following the commencement of renovation last year, tales showing dissatisfaction and contentment resonated among students of the various halls.
For Faith, a resident of Queen Elizabeth II Hall, the repainting of rooms, re-piping of toilets, changing of roofs, replacement of some water closets, and regular cleaning of the toilets had made the hostel a “bit manageable”. A resident of Queen Idia hall lamented the old nature of the closets, though she noted that the replacement of some closets had made the convenience quite conducive.
A resident of Obafemi Awolowo Hall, Lateefat, said the usual macabre dance by rats in their rooms had been slowed down by the renovation. Lateefat, however, noted that the management of the university still had to address leaking pipes and give more attention to environmental sanitation.
The University of Ibadan charges N30,000 per student for accommodation, and this is expected to be paid via the university’s portal. Accommodation fees are paid online aside hall dues of an average of N9,500. In fact, some halls have also moved from payment of hall dues via cash to the online alternative so as to curb embezzlement that could arise with students and student managers in the halls handling hall funds.
According to the Director of Public Communications in the university, Mr Olatunji Oladejo, the renovation of the halls of residence was ongoing. He explained that the renovation would span toilet facilities, rooms and general environmental sanitation of all the halls of residence.
“The renovation of the halls of residence is ongoing. We may have not touched those areas that you got to, but I can assure you that everything will be done to ensure we have conducive welfare facilities for our students residing in our halls of residence. Efforts are on to ensure that all the facilities in our hostels are of good standard. The facilities include the toilet, rooms, and the general environmental sanitation of the halls of residence. They have not finished and we are on top of the situation.
“I am not aware of scam in relation to accommodation. If students do that, we have our process through which anybody who does what is not within the context of what is actually expected of students or students’ managers occupying our halls of residence, they are called to question. We are working to ensure we give our students the best of welfare within the system,” Oladejo said.
‘In OAU, N90 bed-spaces are resold for N3,000’
Though students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State are currently on break, a visit to the hostels on the campus of the institution indicated that accommodation facilities are in good shape.
Findings by Nigerian Tribune showed that despite the sanctions against accommodation racketeering, some students often engage in reselling the bed-space in the hostels for as much as N3,000 and N2,000. However, on the state of facilities, majority of the students who reside inside hostels on campus told our correspondent that it is more comfortable and safe to live on campus, bearing in mind cases of armed robbery attacks and cultism that are rampant off campus, thus exposing students who live in houses outside OAU to danger.
A part three student of Department of Political Science in the university, who pleaded anonymity, said: “Currently, we are on break so you cannot find students in those hostels. But I stay in Awolowo Hall. Whenever we are in session, I can tell you that I prefer to stay on campus.
“It is true that some students engage in accommodation racketeering by reselling bed-spaces for exorbitant amount. This is against the university’s rules and regulations and anyone caught in this act would not be spared. Some resell the bed-space for N3,000 or more,” he remarked.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of OAU, Mr Abiodun Olarewaju, said: “First of all, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, is a good brand of Nigerian university. We are known as Africa’s most beautiful campus and we are known for excellence. We charge our students N90 per bed-space for a whole academic session. For the past two to three years, we put a maximum of 10 students in a room. There are some rooms in which we put six or eight students.
“At the end of every session, we ask our students to go home so that we would be able to renovate the hostels and put in place new structures. Amenities or facilities that have hitherto been damaged are replaced. I can tell you authoritatively that all the toilet facilities in our hostels promote hygiene.”
On the allegations that some students resell their bed-spaces for N3,000 or N2,000, Olarewaju explained that “as far as I know, there are rules and regulations that nobody should resell bed-space to fellow students. That is the standing instruction. But you will agree with me that in any society, there are bound to be people that will flout the law of the land. That is why we decide that there are appropriate sanctions for anybody found wanting in that regard.”
The situation in UNN, ESUT
Investigation revealed that in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) which has two main campuses at Nsukka and Enugu, students of the institution, especially the fresh ones, do not have difficulty in securing accommodation, even as others speak in low tones over state of infrastructural decay.
It was gathered that charges are pegged at N12,000 for male hostels and N25,000 for the fully renovated Okeke female hostel. Further checks showed that N15,000 is charged in other female hostels, both at Nsukka and Enugu campuses.
A 100-level student, who simply gave her name as Chinasa, said there are two options while seeking accommodation for any new student in UNN. One option is to stay off campus while the other is living in hostels, which is officially recommended by the university authority.
Gideon Madu, who prefers to stay off campus due to blackouts and scarcity of water on the campus, said in the recent past, accommodation fee was usually N11,500 for female students and N9,000 for male students per academic year.
In Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), there are also two options as regards getting accommodation for any new student. One option is to stay outside the campus, otherwise known as off campus, while the other, recommended by the university authority, is to stay within the university campus.
Obiageli Okoro, a first year student in Accountancy Department, said she got accommodation at Agbani campus of the university, adding that Agbani town has many private hostels and accommodation for students.
Her words: «The ESUT Pre-Degree programme has hostel accommodation for students at Nsukka campus of the university. Accommodation is allocated to students during registration. I paid accommodation fee of N20,000 for one academic year. A student can secure accommodation by checking ESUT website and register after approval is given and a space temporarily allotted for the student. The allotted space will be available for two weeks after which the student loses the accommodation and the system automatically re-assigns the room. There is adequate water supply and electricity in the hostels.”
On whether a space is sold to other students as obtained in other higher institutions, Okoro said some sell a bed-space for N50,000 or less.
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