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By Abdullah Tijani
At early day of May, Dauda, a student of Usmanu Danfodiyo University and resident of Jubril Aminu Hostel (Block A) could not withstand the hell in his hostel — his room lacks enough ventilation. He laid his bed outside and slept while he wiped his perspiration with his underwear. He unclothed his underwear and started fanning his body with it until he slept of.
This is unsurprising because passing the night outside the Halls of residents has become the habit of students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto who cannot bear the daring hellish conditions of hostels. Alas! There is no working fan in their rooms.
Dauda eventually slept off and found himself in the land of the dreamers. But in a moment, Abdulrasheed, a resident in the hostel, who also passes night outside noticed a creeping animal trying to climb Dauda’s bed. Abdurasheed moved to the moving object and he lighted his touch; he realised that a scorpion was trying to share the bed with Dauda.
Outside Dangers Better Than Inside Dangers
“When I saw something creeping on the bed, I thought it was an ant at first, then I tried to light the torch of my phone and I realised it was a scorpion. The scorpion was about to bite his leg before I kicked it away and killed it. I was the one who rescued the guy.
“What I know is that if the room was conducive, I don’t think the guy would be sleeping outside.”
Abdurasheed noted that the deadly place, where the scorpion was killed is also his regular place of sleeping, and could not detest sleeping in the place even after the dangerous scorpion was killed at the spot. He regarded the danger and the risk of sleeping inside more higher than outside.
“I sleep there till now because there is no other alternative. The scorpion and other animals out there is under probability, they might come and they might not come. But the heat inside is not a probability. The danger inside the room is that one will be infected with meningitis, which we are more certain of, especially in Sokoto. So in order to save ourselves we have to run away for that.
“The room is not conducive, we cannot sleep the way we want, we cannot sit the way we want, and to me, the heat is the major problem,” he noted.
Perhaps, Abdurasheed was right on his fear of meningitis, considering it as a permanent possible danger of sleeping inside the room. Over the years, meningitis has not stopped claiming lives in Sokoto state. For instance, in April this year, the Health Commissioner, Dr Balarabe Kakale said that the death toll which, as a result of the meningitis epidemic in Sokoto State, has now risen to 41. These are from the 600 clinically confirmed cases of meningitis in the eight worst-hit local governments in the state.
The agony of students living inside the halls of residence at Usmanu Danfodiyo University — a university situated at the heart of Sokoto varsity — is always exacerbated, especially during the hot whether. Because of its geographical location, Sokoto has an annual average temperature of 28.3 °C (82.9 °F). In 2010, the city’s temperature increased up to 47.2 °C (117.0 °F) which is the highest recorded temperature in Nigeria. This record therefore, made the city the hottest in the country and one of the hottest in the world.
Between April and June the temperature in Sokoto City increases up to its hottest level, ranging between an average temperature of 40°C and 44°C. In order to survive the hot weather and subdue the heat, the settlers stay outside less and stay mostly at home so as to avoid the outside temperature and enjoy the ventilation inside their houses; also to avoid the attention of the reptiles that are running away from the hot weather. But the reverse is the case for students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto; they prefer staying outside to their rooms.
‘I Feel Unhappy, Very Bad, Uncomfortable’
Abdulakeem Abdullahi knew how hot Sokoto weather could be; he had come earlier to school to arrange for his convenience even before the school resumed. He came as early as October to do the clearance for the bed space allocated to him and reported all the shortcomings of the technical and electrical appliances in his room, after he cleared his bed space; the hostel portal officer asked him to pack into his room.
Abdulakeem lodged complaints about the absence of fan which the portal officer promised to get installed before the students would resume in February. It was to Abdulakeem a surprise that he met the room the same situation he had left it. After a lot of efforts made by him to get the fan installed proved abortive, he lost hope and became disappointed.
“I feel unhappy, very bad, and uncomfortable. The situation in the room is very unfavourable,” he lamented.
“The day I came to clear my bed space, the portal asked me to check if there is a fan in the room. I came and checked, and I informed him there was no fan. He directed me to the maintenance office and the maintenance said there was no fan at all in my room. I came back to meet the portal and they said they will do something before we resumed fully. That was in October. When I came back in February, there was still no fan. I went back to the maintenance and nothing happened. I went to the portal and they asked me to write an application requesting for a new fan. After I submitted the application, he said they would come and fix the fan, but until now nothing has happened.
“Also the hall governor, who is in charge of our block came and asked if we have fan, we told him we don’t have and he wrote the number of our room hoping he has some miracle to perform. But until this moment, nothing has been done.
“The room members are sleeping outside. They have risked anything that will happen. It is better to risk it than to sleep in the room. One cannot stay in this room in the afternoon because of too much heat.
Students Union Intervenes
In an interview with Mr. Muhammad Bashir, Special Adviser to the Students’ Union President on Media and Publicity, he narrated the effort of the Union Leader in ensuring the instalment and repairing of the fans. He said having realized the inertia responses of the maintenance staff towards the complaints of the occupants in the hostel, the administration has taken a drastic step towards resolving the issues.
“We had issue with the maintenance that they will say they will come and repair fans but they will not come. Students are complaining that there are lots of tripping lights and absence of fans. That’s why we lodged a complaint to the maintenance office.
“The present administration had a meeting with the maintenance and we had a productive discussion.”
The Students Union since then claimed to liaise with the maintenance office and they were able to gain some promises from the maintenance.
“Now that the present Students’ Union leader liaised with the maintenance office, if you lodge a complaint to them they will respond to it on time. The maintenance has thereby promised to fix all the light and fans in the hostel.”
Maintenance Repair Fans In Some Rooms and Left Many Untouched
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| Maintenance staff repairing fans |
It was indeed a productive move by the Students Union that after 9th week of resumption, the maintenance entered some rooms and repaired their fans. But it was unfortunate for some occupants which rooms were left untouched.
Yusuf Balogun, an occupant in Block A was not in the room when the fans of other rooms were repaired. Upon return, he quickly went back to meet the maintenance officer but was disappointed with the response he got.
“I went there when I realized that some rooms beside my room which also didn’t have fan before, now has fan. But the man has to chase me away saying they have installed all the fans they have.
“Though maintenance staff came out to installed the fans but there are still many rooms that are yet to get fans and are still battling with the heat. What will be fate of those occupants? Perhaps they will continue risking their lives outside,” he said hopelessly!
Is The Management Truly Aware?
It has been an issue of doubt whether the University management is actually aware of what the students are going through — especially, the hostel dwellers — during the hot weather. And who knows whether the non-availability of fans in the students rooms is an agony that never goes beyond the maintenance table.
In an interview with the our correspondent, the Dean of Student Affairs (DSA), Prof. Aminu Mode, also reassures that the ‘maintenance’ in charge are working to repair whatever fault still lingering as regards.
The DSA said: “If you check the maintenance right now, you will see that they are repairing them. So sooner or later, they will get the fans.”
Responding on the issue of those whose fans, according to the ‘maintenance’, has no trace in stock, in their respective rooms. And those who have written letter(s) in quest for a new fan and up till this moment battling with long anticipation that weakens the heart.
“The students can not tell us what to do. If they have any problem they should just report it, not that they will be asking us for a new fan. They should just report their problems and when it is time, the University will do the needful,” noted, the DSA.