Akaje Maimunat reports
Academic Mosque
“Many a time, we have no money to buy pure water; we have to trek to the Biochemistry department before we could perform ablution and it’s very stressful,” Said Aishat, a 300 level Education Biology student, in her interview while narrating her ordeal over lack of availability of water in the university academic mosque.
Aishat had narrated her ordeal to The News Digest Press—expressing her displeasure over the shortage of water at the female side of the Academic mosque.
She has always been hopelessly muddled by this particular situation—of which has stirred reactions within the muslim female students as they often trek to the Biochemistry department which is about 45 feets away from Mosque to perform ablution.
The Academic Mosque is situated beside the Management Information System (MIS), where most students and lecturers observe their obligatory prayers while on campus.
Female Toilet, a Germ-ridden Place
Just like Aisht, almost half of the female students who observe their prayers at Academic mosque have similar encounters.
Speaking on why female students choose to pee outside rather than using the toilet, Zainab Muhammed, a 100 level student from the Faculty of Law, expressed discomfort over the unhealthy state of the female toilet.
“It’s so uncultured that people will be peeing outside whereas the toilet is not well and neat,” said Zainab
Also speaking, Shukrah Salihu, a 300-level student from Botany Department, expressed her scorn on the unsanitary conditions of the female toilet—adding that using it frequently can result in sickness.
She stressed that the female side needs not only water and kettles to facilitate ablution but also the toilet definitely needs maintenance.
Meanwhile, Hanifa, a member of Sister’s Forum under the Umbrella of Muslim Students Society of Nigeria—UDUS chapter and a 400 level student from the department of Natural and Life Sciences, noted that the mosque had been provided some basic needs by the last administration.
Hanifa maintained that the female side of the mosque has been provided some basic needs like drum, bucket and kettles by the last administration— adding that anyone who has been frequent at the mosque, will attest to that.
“Although the mosque had a circulating running tap, it was destroyed by unknown people and the fans and bulbs were working before it ceased working,” she added.
“Too Much Heat Can Make One Suffocate”—Aishat Nawawi
Reacting to why female students have preference for outside over inside mosque, Aishat Nawawi gave a voice on the ineffectiveness of the fans at the female side of the mosque as to what can make people suffocate when the heat is unbearable.
The 300 level student from the Department of Botany said she will always prefer observing her prayer outside rather than staying inside the mosque—all in the name of the excess heat and the ineffectiveness of the fans.
She further said that it is risky for one to pray in the Academic mosque especially at night when harmful animals can crawl out from nowhere.
“If there are effective and functioning fans in the mosque, no one would be praying outside and praying outside under the darkness is not advisable,”she said.
MSSN Correspondent Reacts
Speaking with The News Digest Press, the Amirah of Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), Hanifah Attahiru Abdullah, who is in charge of managing the Academic mosque noted her side of view over the status of female side of the mosque, trailing that the problem was from the Yarinyan girls who pricked the previous drum as to surge their own market.
The final year student from the Faculty of Agriculture further stated the issue of water has been rectified for the new provision of drum and kettles and “Yarinyan” girls have been warned strictly not to move toward the drum .
Her words: “Regarding the sockets,most people would want to be using it otherwise, which can raise havoc and trouble of phone theft and sort like that.”
Meanwhile, during the time of filing this report, all efforts made by The News Digest correspondent to reach out to the management and the Students Union President was abortive.