It is harder to make choices at the end of the day.

For Deborah, a 100-level student and resident of Obafemi Awolowo Hall of residence, University of Ibadan, staying in her hall of residence was a choice she made because she was in her first year of study. She believed this choice was the safest way to get familiar with the school and its environment. Posi, another student, on the other hand, resides in a school hostel due to proximity.

“I stay in Obafemi Awolowo Hall of Residence because of its proximity to classes; the fact that it is cheaper, it is less stressful than house hunting, and much safer than staying outside school,” Posi explained.

Posi’s reason for staying in Obafemi Awolowo Hall is the same as that of many students who find themselves in public hostels — it is often cheaper and closer to school. This goes to show just how important hostel accommodation is for students in any university, as it affects both their academics and overall wellbeing.

Unfortunately, the current state of university-owned hostels in Nigeria is far from ideal, with many hostels in a deplorable state that affects students’ health and academic focus. The issue is symptomatic of a larger problem — the government’s failure to prioritize adequate funding of public education.

Despite the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommendation to allocate 15 to 20 percent of the national budget to education, the Nigerian federal government has persistently committed less than 10 percent since 1999. This has led to inadequate infrastructure in the country’s tertiary institutions, including the University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University.

A Place to Lay Heads But Not a Ground To Put Feet

The halls of residence in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, used to be the cheapest and most affordable school hostels in South Western Nigeria. However, this came to an end at the beginning of the 2022/23 academic session, where the accommodation fee leaped to ₦30,000 from ₦3,090, a 900% increment with almost no consequential improvement of the state of the halls. This increment only gave room to more increment as the beginning of 2023/24 academic session saw another increment from ₦30,000 to ₦50,000. This arbitrary increment left students who could not afford the new fees stranded. Quite a number resorted to squatting as a means of cutting costs, as they illegally paired with friends, leading to overcrowding in the halls of residence.

What is clear in all of these is that OAU, just like many university hostels, has limited accommodations for students. Yet, in a bid to improvise, residents were forced, by the impact of the hostels’ policy, to share rooms meant for fewer people.

Take for example, in Fajuyi hall and Awo hall (Annex buildings precisely), five students stay in rooms that were originally designed for three students, leading to increased tension among students, lack of privacy and a resultant difficulty in maintaining personal belongings.

Fajuyi Hall and Awo Hall in OAU are not the only halls of residence whose occupants face these issues. The hostels in the University of Ibadan are also not exempted. In an editorial, published in 2024, titled ‘Tackling UI Quality Accommodation Deficit’, IndyPress, while addressing the issue of accommodation deficit in UI, explained that the halls of residence in UI were built so that their rooms could accommodate one or two occupants each. However, after Obafemi Awolowo Hall was opened in 1986, no other hostel has been built by the government — or school — and because the population of residents has been on a sessional increase ever since, the only way the university has catered for the growing population has been to stretch, or, more appropriately, overstretch the capacity of the halls to hold a more-than-envisioned number of students.

Despite claims that some rooms are relatively spacious, it points inversely at a crisis in the UI accomodation system, ultimately culminating to the question, “at what point does overcrowding make a living space completely unlivable?” Queen Elizabeth II Hall houses up to six students in some rooms, and in Idia hall, up to eight in a room. These rooms appear larger than standard rooms that hold four or two students but in truth, they are far from comfortable.

Video of a two man room in Obafemi Awolowo Hall, UI

Rahmat, for example, a resident of Queen Idia hall explains that there are currently six occupants in her room and while it is sometimes fun to have so many people in a room, it, more often than seldom, stir concerns. She agrees that her room is overcrowded and, almost all the time, there tends to be no privacy.

Deborah equally has an issue with her overcrowded room, even though she shares the room with three other occupants. She told IndyPress, “there is not enough space to keep our bags and buckets of water. Besides, when my roommate brings their friends to the room, it is usually overcrowded and it makes me uncomfortable.”

Judith, a resident of Queen Elizabeth Hall explained that the sizes of the rooms in different blocks differ, so a six-man room (which she currently stays in) in Block G and H might be more spacious than a-six man room in Block F. “But for the F block which I stay in, I will say the space is fair but not as big as some rooms in G and H that house 6 people,” he said.

Meanwhile, while some male hostels in the university of Ibadan, like The Great Independence Hall of Residence and Nnamdi Azikiwe, house four students per room, others, such as Kenneth Melanby and Ransome Kuti Halls, house three students per room, which can be less than ideal comfort. Iniola, a resident of Ransome Kuti Hall, voiced his growing frustration with the cramped state of his room, which he believes should accommodate just two students, instead of three. The cramped space, he notes, is becoming increasingly untenable.

Unclogging the Dirty Truth About Neglected Toilets and Kitchen

Toilets and bathrooms are essential in any place of habitation, and it is crucial to ensure these facilities are clean, accessible, and functional. Unfortunately, this is not always the case in the halls of residence. While some areas have manageable facilities, others are plagued by waterlogged and smelly bathrooms, blocked pipes, with inadequate cleaning, resulting in persistent foul odors and environmental pollution. These unsanitary conditions pose severe health risks, exposing students to infections, rat-infestation, and diseases due to improper waste management.

In many hostels, only a few toilets and bathrooms are accessible at night due to broken bulbs, faulty lamp holders, and damaged switches that have remained unfixed for years. The lack of regular maintenance and poor hygiene practices undermine students’ ability to maintain basic cleanliness. For example, Blocks J and the Annex Building of Fajuyi Hall have no usable toilets, forcing residents to use facilities in other blocks. Caleb, a resident of Block J, told Icons Organization that the hall management had promised to repair the toilets since October, but no action has been taken. As a result, he and his blockmates are compelled to walk to Blocks 1, 2, and others to relieve themselves.

The deplorable state of toilets also exists in UI hostels and this has caused students to either make use of toilets in other blocks or even outside of the hostel. “I do not go to the bathrooms at night o! I am scared of rats and they are in the corridors and bathrooms. The bathrooms would be better if they were washed regularly. Unfortunately they’re only washed every 2-3 days. I only use toilets in a particular block because it is better. People on my floor have been complaining that the toilets here aren’t good, [and] that they’re not taking care of it well,’ Feranmi explained.

This is not so far from what Judith also noticed. Although Judith attributed the bad state of the toilets in her hall to the students themselves. She said, “the bathroom can be really messed up. The toilet will get messy except they lock it and assign keys amongst themselves.”

 

Just like Judith, Joshua, a resident of Lord Tedder Hall at the University of Ibadan also voiced concerns about the state of the toilets in his hall. While he commended the sanitary staff for their tireless efforts, he condemned some students habit of leaving the toilets unflushed, which he believes is partly due to the lack of running water. He recalled an incident where his roommate developed a skin infection due to the unsanitary toilet conditions. Joshua called on the university management to take immediate action to address the deplorable state of the toilets and the overall living conditions in the hostels.

While assigning toilets as Judith had suggested might seem like a good way to maintain hygienic toilets, it might not always work especially when some of the available toilets are nothing to write home about. It did not work for Posi. “I am not using the toilet on my floor because before I resumed, some people on the floor had picked the 2 good toilets and locked it which made it inaccessible and the rest of us had to use the toilets on the next block,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Akintola Hall in OAU is known for its numerous accommodation problems. Overall cleanliness of the hall is often lacking, creating an uncomfortable living situation for students. The bathrooms are frequently unclean. Many toilets and pipes are in disrepair, with inadequate cleaning contributing to unsanitary conditions. Safety hazards are present due to exposed electrical wires, posing risks of electrical accidents. Furthermore, there is a lack of lighting in the toilets and bathrooms, making it difficult for students to use these facilities safely. The corridors are poorly lit, further compromising safety.

The kitchens are also facilities lacking in halls of residences. In many instances, students have resorted to cooking in their rooms because of the terrible state of the kitchens. “Not a lot of people use the kitchens,” Feranmi said.

“They are too far and not very nice; as in, the sinks get clogged with food particles, the counters are dirty and so on. You might even see rats in the cupboards too”.

In the Great Independence Hall of Residence, UI, the problem of accommodation has precipitated a conversion of the kitchenettes to bed spaces for students.

Room Infrastructure: Woes That Should Not Be

It would not be far-fetched to refer to the bedrooms in a hostel as the heart of the hostel, as this is where a good number of students spend most of their time.

Moving into their rooms after being assigned, students are confused by various problems besetting the room — torn nets, missing ceilings, missing louvres, missing wardrobes, and much more. Unfortunately, the barrage of complaints about the state of rooms are only stymied with reinforced bureaucratic nonchalance.

The facilities which students are supposed to meet with when they are assigned a room are also not left out. Take for instance, last session, various halls of residences, including the Awolowo Hall of Residence suffered from a paucity of bed bunks.

Many bunks were bad and some rooms were left with insufficient or no bed bunks. This led to students having to place their bed on the floor to sleep and then pack them up when it was not in use. The lack of bunk in halls of residences has been a recurring issue for ages now, in spite of the many promises made by the management to address these issues. In the 2022/2023 session, perhaps, it became more of a menace as students had to constantly make complaints about having no bunks or having to put up with rickety bunks.

Deborah explains that there are two double bunks in her room, but one of them is bad and so they have to be careful when using it. “We had to rest our bunks on the wall because they are bad, so it will not fall,” she said. The same thing goes for Posi who also had an issue with her bunk until it was fixed during the second semester.

Olamide, on the other hand, another Awoite explained that upon resumption, after her room was allocated to her, there was no bunk in her room and so she had to look for one, an experience shared by many Awoites.

The bunks are not the only issues students have had to face in their rooms as students sometimes meet their louvers, nets and doors in bad conditions causing insects and pests to infiltrate their rooms and ruin their possessions. Olamide, a resident of Block I, Obafemi Awolowo hall explains that the net to one of her windows is bad and so she can only leave her window open during the day. This tale of bad net is not only hers, as various rooms in Block I of Awo hall have this same issue.

For Blessing, the incomplete windows in his room expose him to harsh weather conditions, worsening his health and comfort. Deborah, on the other hand, had an issue with incomplete louvres when she first moved into her room. This was an issue because this widow faced the hallway and because it had no curtains; her privacy was threatened. But this should not be the case because in all halls of residence as Judith noted, there is a system in place to make sure that students who damage any of the facilities are punished.

“There’s a system in place to do clearance when leaving the room and if you destroy the louvres or damage anything, there are [measures of] fines. So those [damages] are repaired when you report the room’s condition,” Judith explained. However, this does not seem to solve anything in many halls of residence as students in every new year, still meet rooms in the same terrible state.

In Halls of residence in OAU, the infrastructures of the rooms are also nothing to write home about. The condition of window nets is concerning, as damaged nets often lead to pest infestations. Many doors are in disrepair, while some electrical sockets are faulty, further exacerbating living conditions. The surroundings are not well lit, further heightening a sense of insecurity. Additionally, some electrical sockets and ceiling fans are in poor condition, affecting comfort and safety.

The Bed Bugs Will Bite

Overcrowding is not only the plague when it comes to the state of rooms in halls of residence across UI and other federal Universities. Bed bugs and rodent infestation have, in recent years, threatened to almost overthrow students as legal occupants.

In giving a narration of her harrowing frustration with the conditions of welfare, Deborah spoke about the state of her friend’s room in the same hall of residence.

‘I have this friend, there is a big hole in her room. They complained to the porters about it, but nothing has been done about it till now.” When asked if her friend had an issue with rats, she explained that while she wasn’t so sure the rats came from the hole, she could confirm that her friend had a continuing issue with rats.

Rats are no new acquaintances in the halls of residence. In fact, Feranmi explained that the rats are everywhere, almost residents of the hall in their own rights. “They are huge and they don’t even run when you see them. They walk around in broad daylight, more outside than inside. They are the true inhabitants of the place,” she stated.

The case is not different in Obafemi Awolowo Hall, as Deborah narrates that they see rats every night especially on the staircase making it bad for people who are scared of rats. When asked if there was any attempt to get rid of these rats both Posi and Deborah explained that they were not so sure.

“I am not sure of an attempt to get rid of the rats but the first time we resumed, I saw a cat in the hall so I assumed it was an attempt to get rid of the rats,” Deborah told IndyPress. Posi, on the other hand, explained that while they were informed of a fumigation during the break, she is not sure it worked because there are still rats roaming the hall.

Blessing, a resident of the Great Independence Hall of Residence, shared his frustration with the issue of bed bugs. He noted that the bedbug infestation was a recurring one and it affected his health, despite spending a lot on fumigating his room.

Another student, Joshua, a 200-level student from Lord Tedder Hall, recounted his own struggles with accommodation. In his first year, he endured a severe bedbug infestation in his 100-level room, forcing him to spend most of his time in the reading room. While the problem was partially alleviated by chemicals he and his roommates purchased, the issue flared up again in his second year, and he found it difficult to study effectively due to the constant disturbance.

“I won’t say the bed bug infestation really has an effect on me. It has an effect but I won’t say it is a medical but a mental effect. Because now, I have books to read and I am the kind of person who doesn’t like to read in the reading room or the library. I prefer to read In my room,” Joshua told Indypress

“Like yesterday I was reading, I had read up to 30 minutes and just saw that something bit me on my neck and when I checked it was bedbugs. Immediately I saw it, I just went to my bed. Immediately I laid down on my bed, after 25 minutes, I just slept off,” he added.

While unlike most male hostels in the University of Ibadan, the female hostels rarely have issues related to bedbug infestation, it doesn’t however mean that this issue does not subsist. Judith for example explains that while she had never experienced it, she knew students who were trying to get rid of bedbugs in their rooms. “I know people who have it but, I’ve never experienced it. A friend had it in her room and the hostel ensured to fumigate for you and if you wish to do extra fumigation for your peace of mind, it’s fine,” she said.

Posi who has stayed in Obafemi Awolowo Hall for about four years explains that while her friends in past years have had issues with bedbugs, she had never experienced an infestation until recently. “Yes, although this is my first encounter (with bedbugs) since I’ve been staying in the school hostel. My roommate and I have tried to get rid of the bedbugs by constantly fumigating the room and drying our beds in the sun.”

When asked if the hostel had done any form of fumigation that she knew of regarding pests like bed bugs, she explained that it seemed to have no effect whatsoever. “Well they told us they fumigated the hostel before we resumed for the session which is hard to believe because when I resumed to my room, I faced bed bugs issues like a week after and consistently since then,” she explained.

No Light Or Water

One of the most alarming issues bedeviling the students is water scarcity. It is, in fact, an ongoing issue that has left many students struggling. The erratic water supply implies that residents often have to wait in queues for hours before they can get water. This compels them to rely on alternative sources, some of which are unhygienic. Angola Hall occupants complained about how they need to stay awake all night till around 5 a.m to get the purest water in the hall.

Scarcity not only affects daily hygiene but also affects students’ ability to meet their basic needs, causing frustration and stress. Residents of the ETF Hall go as far as the Health Center Complex, Postgraduate Hall, and Ojaja Hall (a newly built private hostel) to get water, due to the unavailability of water in their hall of residence. In Mozambique Hall, OAU, students also face similar challenges. A frequent lack of water supply hampers daily activities and hygiene practices. These issues add to the growing frustration of students striving to maintain a comfortable living environment. Moremi Hall presents its own set of problems, including poor water supply and persistent security concerns. Residents often experience difficulties due to insufficient water supply which complicates their daily routines.

Water and electricity issues in the University of Ibadan halls are now constant concerns especially for hostels like Obafemi Awolowo hall. The hall of residence which is the farthest hostel, situated on a hill and surrounded mostly by trees and darkness at night, can sometimes go up to four days and even more, without light, and water, even when there is electricity supply in other parts of the school. “Last semester, at Block D we did not have water for weeks and this was a problem because we had to go as far as block B to fetch water. Also, our tanks in Block D are not neat,” Deborah lamented.

“Up until now, I haven’t really felt a lack of it. But it seems to be a tradition during exams that there will be no light or water which constantly puts me in a state of panic and worry in a bid to prepare for my exam,” Posi said.

The light issue is not only particular to Obafemi Awolowo hall as recently there has been issues with light and students having to source for water with students opting to use bags of pure water to have their bath or as in case of Angola Hall residents, having to fetch water from the stream because there was no water in their halls of residence.

 

When talking about the epileptic power and water supply in Queen Elizabeth II Hall, Judith explained that it had affected her in many ways but she had found a way around it.

“I got a lamp because of the light issue although I had to use my roommate’s own throughout 1st semester. For the water issue, there’s a well we get water from and mostly I resorted to buying food when I didn’t get clean water for cooking and when there was clean water I cooked. I guess I’m used to it already but thank God for no allergies or reaction,” she told IndyPress.

Gabriel, an occupant of Angola, said, “many times, I prefer to bring my clothes and sometimes my plates to the stream to wash, because the stream is a bit far from my room and carrying water from the well to my room isn’t easy.” He added, “In fact, I do come here to have my bath cos I think the water is safe for bathing, I don’t think it’s safe for cooking, so, I don’t cook with it.”

In Queen Idia hall, the only difference is the fact that they have a solar system to take them for a short while when there is no power supply. “For reading, we have solar panels. Even though they don’t last very long on my block, I don’t know why. Water is good on normal days as long as there are no issues. If there’s no light for long periods, there’s a well inside the hall, other people go to fetch outside,” Feranmi explained.

Blessing struggles with difficulty attached to water supply, which requires him to walk to Block B, quite a distance from his room in Block C, to access water as the pumping machine in block-C was faulty as of the time of filing this report.

Apart from the poor water supply caused by epileptic power, Awo Hall, the biggest hall of residence in the university and Nigeria, suffers its own issue of water supply as the availability of water is never always sure. Perhaps, it is worse for students on the higher floors as they have to climb flights of stairs in order to get or even source water. During the 2022/2023 session, an attempt was made to make sure water reached all floors in Obafemi Awolowo Hall through taps on each floor, repairs were made and so much more. However, this did not necessarily mean that the goal was reached. As residents on the 6th floor and above still had to go down to fetch water. “I think water should be running on each floor. I am on the fourth floor and water runs just once in a month or once in three weeks. It is based on luck,” Deborah stated.

Perhaps, in the University of Ibadan, the halls of residence that have indeed felt the brunt of the electricity issues are Alexander Brown Hall and Falase Hall of residence, both of which are at the UCH campus, for medical students. With over 100 days of darkness (and counting) in these halls of residence, students have boycotted classes as well as gone on protests as an attempt to get the management as well as the federal government to resolve this issue. However nothing tangible has been done with the only improvement being the provision of a generator to generate power for 3 hours a day. This also soon stopped, taking students back to ground zero, and plunging them into darkness.

Boluwatife, a medical student residing in ABH explained that after an agreement was reached with the management, following boycott of classes, there were no improvements whatsoever saying that things had gotten worse since then.

When asked how students were able to fetch water and charge their devices, he explained that to get water they had to go to the construction site. “I think students have been going as far as the construction site, going to FCMB bank, and the Mosque which are places quite far from.the hostel, to get their water. Students have also resorted to going out of the hall to far places like UI to charge their devices.”

Esther, another resident of the Alexander Brown Hall, told the press that after a few weeks of the management fulfilling their promises due to students boycotting classes, it ended. “We had the promised generator light for a while, but after some time, I can’t really say the exact period, a couple of weeks, the money said to have finished.”

By calculations done by IndyPressi, it takes about 3 minutes 30 seconds to walk from Alexander Brown Hall to the Construction site and another 3 minutes 30 seconds to walk back without carrying any thing. And it takes about 500 to 800 naira to transport one person from UCH to UI and another 500 to 800 naira back.

Students who have been in school and didn’t go home for the holidays have had to go through such strenuous act for 100 days because of the total blackout in ABH.

“I think one word I’d use to describe the state of things in ABH is unbearable. Our quality of life has gotten really poor and students have been complaining, they’ve been finding it really hard to charge their devices. It has affected our productivity, mood. Many students have gone home and some are considering moving out of the hall,” Boluwatife told the press.

 

 

Apart from these issues, the state of the environment surrounding the halls is equally troubling, as unkempt lawns and clogged gutters not only give the area an unsightly and dingy appearance but also create a breeding ground for mosquitoes and pests.

The lack of regular landscaping and maintenance, especially in Fajuyi Hall and The Great Independence Hall further highlights the management’s negligence in providing a safe and pleasant living environment for students. Blessing, for instance, also expressed concerns about the poor drainage next to the C-Block Central Reading Room, which is clogged with debris and further impedes his studying experience.

 

Students’ Union Comments

In an exclusive interview with the Welfare Director of the Great Ife Students’ Union, Samuel Timileyin (S&T), he noted that the primary goal of his office is to protect the interest of the students by ensuring that the welfare of students are met. He says his office does this by reaching out to the management, informing them about the students’ plights and ensuring that effective actions are taken.

 

He further explained that the reason why water coming from OAU dam to the Halls of residence has not been available lately is as a result of a broken pipe during the crapping and construction of the Sport Complex car park, currently under construction. “However, the management has made provisions for tankers that discharge water to each hall within a two days interval. The water isn’t enough, but the boreholes will be used in support of it.”

Timileyin also noted that, all issues affecting the welfarism of students in the halls of office are being thoroughly looked into by the hall committee, headed by the chair-of-chairs (the chairman of all chairman of hall of residence), and all these issues are being discussed to effects changes which he thinks will yield positive results soonest.

Meanwhile, speaking with INDYPRESS on August 21, 2024, Olamilekan Ibrahim, Administrator General of the Great Independence Hall of Residence and Chairman of the Council of Hall Chairpersons, University of Ibadan, shed light on the council’s efforts to improve the state of the halls of residence on campus.

Olamilekan told IndyPress that during discussion with the Dean of Students, Professor Keye Abiona, the Council resolved to seek partnerships with private hostels. However, progress on this initiative had stalled, with no feedback from the Student Affairs Division, he noted. Speaking on the issue of cleanliness within the halls, Ibrahim acknowledged concerns raised by students and emphasized that the council would engage in discussions with both the Dean of Students and the Head of the cleaning staff. Yet, four months after the interview, the situation in the halls within the University persists, longing for a solution.

“Concerning the cleanliness, we plan to meet the dean of students and head of cleaners to know where the problem lies. We have got a report saying they don’t get paid on time but I think that is still a bureaucracy,” Olamilekan said.

“We are trying to bring everybody to the round table to know where the problem lies and how we can move forward. If we have cleaners and they are well paid, I don’t think we should have issues with cleanliness with our hostels,” he added. With the council now fully aware of the pressing accommodation issues, it is imperative that they take decisive action. The responsibility lies with the Hall Council to ensure the welfare of students, and it is time to translate awareness into tangible solutions.

The challenges faced by students living in the halls of residence at the University of Ibadan and Obafemi Awolowo University highlight a pressing need for urgent reforms in the management and infrastructure of these facilities. From overcrowding and unsanitary conditions to inadequate access to essential utilities like water and electricity, the current state of accommodation not only undermines students’ well-being but also hampers their academic success.

The testimonies from students like Deborah, Blessing, Caleb and others reveal a distressing reality where many are forced to endure substandard living conditions that are detrimental to their health and comfort. The burden of poor maintenance, insufficient funding, and lack of effective management has created an environment that is less conducive to learning and personal growth.

It is crucial for the university administration and relevant authorities to prioritize the welfare of students by investing in the necessary infrastructure and ensuring that existing facilities are adequately maintained. The time for action is now; students deserve a safe, clean, and supportive living environment that allows them to thrive academically and socially.

 

Note – Names of respondents as characters in the story have been changed to guarantee safety.

ABOUT

This special report was jointly produced by Icons Press, OAU, and IndyPress, UI. The story was a months-long evaluation of the current fate of public hostels in the two institutions. It was co-authored by in-house correspondents of the aforementioned campus organizations. This project is published under the banner, titled THE INSIDER.