By: IndyPress Feature Desk 

At the University of Ibadan’s public hostels, several kitchenettes have been converted into living spaces, leaving students without designated areas to cook. This change contravenes the university’s own Students’ Information Handbook, which clearly states that cooking is only allowed in designated kitchenettes.

In a September 2024 interview with IndyPress, the management of the Great Independence Hall of Residence explained that the conversion of kitchenettes into rooms was a temporary measure to address the university’s accommodation shortfall.

It is a “temporary panacea to accommodate them,” Dr Adejumobi, Indy Hall Warden said.

Students consequently opt for off-campus housing after failing to secure bed spaces on campus, while others are usually left with no choice but to accept kitchenettes repurposed as living quarters.

The silent conversion of kitchenettes into rooms has not come without consequences. In conversations with IndyPress, students assigned to these spaces shared the challenges they have faced living in them.

Dignity Aside: Students Live in Kitchens

Adegbayi Otedola, a 200-level Mechanical Engineering student and resident of Lord Tedder Hall, told IndyPress that he had to repair the kitchenette assigned to him before paying for the hostel space. He and his roommate spent ₦30,000 on the repairs. According to him, they were not permitted to hire independent technicians and were required to use only those recommended by the hall management.

“I paid to fix the room. When I fixed it, that was when I was qualified to get it,” he said.While getting a hostel room was not guaranteed, the off-campus I found did not work for me.I was to get a place outside, but the place doesn’t work for me. That was when I came back fighting for the hostel. I was in a dilemma; so to say,” he said.

Despite the inconvenience, Otedola believes that living on campus is still preferable to paying higher rent and daily transport fares off campus. He urged the university to build more public hostels to meet growing demand. His suggestion brings to fore concerns over the proliferation of private hostels around the university and the urgent need for greater investment in affordable, on-campus accommodation.

Another affected student, Seyinde, a 200-level Petroleum Engineering student and resident of Lord Tedder Hall, shared a similar experience. After discussions with their Hall Warden, he and his roommate were also required to pay ₦30,000 to repair their assigned kitchenette. According to him, they were told that since they had carried out the repairs, they would be responsible for maintaining the space until graduation.

“They said that since you are the ones that repaired the kitchenette, we will be the ones to maintain it till we graduate,” he said.

In August 2024, IndyPress reported the first instance of a kitchenette being converted into a room in Independence Hall’s C Block. As of now, there are about 11 such rooms across the hall. Four each in Blocks A and C, and three in Block B.

A kitchennetee converted to a room at the Great Independence Hall of Residence.

The trend has since extended beyond Independence Hall, with other hostels like Lord Tedder and Mellanby Hall also repurposing kitchenettes as student accommodation.

The situation is not isolated. A finalist from the Great Independence Hall, who spoke to IndyPress on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal, revealed that he was assigned a kitchenette after failing to secure a standard room because of the limited availability of bed spaces.

“They gave us a kitchenette as a room and now they are making us stay there again.”

He also blamed poor record-keeping for the ongoing room shortages. According to him, many students fail to complete clearance at the end of each session, making it difficult for hall management to determine which rooms are truly available.

Adeoti Babalola, a 300-level Medicine and Surgery student at Independence Hall, said he was entitled to a room in his third year, as it marks the final year medical students reside on the main campus before moving to the University College Hospital (UCH). But, his name was missing from both the first and second hostel allocation lists. Eventually, his student portal was opened for payment. After making the payment, he met with the hall warden, only to be told he had to choose between staying in a converted kitchenette or requesting a refund. He opted for the kitchenette, noting that although the refund process was straightforward, securing another space might not be possible.

The accommodation crisis has worsened to the point where students now actively lobby to be assigned kitchenettes as rooms. Afuye, a student in the Department of Science and Technology Education, told IndyPress that persistent appeals to the hall warden eventually secured him one of the limited spaces.

“Sometimes we be watching the Hall Warden .Once the hall warden arrived, we would start calling ourselves. We would enter his office one after the other,” he said.

Violating the Rules: The lawmakers are the offenders

While students may raise the subject that kitchenette rooms are more spacious than regular rooms, they are not without challenges as they are responsible for their sanitation, including unblocking clogged sinks and cleaning dirty floors.

According to the Students’ Information Handbook, named “Ethics Governing Halls of Residence”, the conversion of Kitchenettes to rooms is prohibited and punishable by ejection.

“No student is permitted to convert a kitchenette to a room. Cooking in the rooms and corridors is prohibited. All cooking should be done in the kitchenettes. Contravention will lead to ejection from the hall,” the Information Handbook Book reads.

With many kitchenettes in the university’s halls of residence now converted into rooms, serious concerns are emerging about where students are expected to cook and whether the university has not successfully breached its own guidelines.

Relentless efforts by IndyPress to get comments from the Students’ Union House Secretary, Oluwaseun Adeyemi, President, Covenant Odedele, on the Union’s stance about the above development, were unsuccessful as of press time.

The deafening silence of the University of Ibadan Students’ Union on the matter speaks volumes. As students grapple with shrinking living spaces and vanishing kitchenettes, the Union’s inaction feels like abandonment. For many, it is not just a failure of leadership, it is yet another betrayal of the very mandate to protect student welfare and speak truth to power.

EDITOR’S NOTE: For protection against possible institutional reprisals, names of students who spoke to IndyPress have been changed.