Students Bemoan Over Unstable Water Supply in Jubril Aminu Hostel

By Muheeb Mashood

Since the resumption of the second semester, student occupants at Jubril Aminu hostel in Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, have been clamoring over intermittent water supply, The News Digest Press can report.

It was in the early hours on Sunday, 24th September. The sun smiled brightly but the atmosphere depicted a nightmare as Jubril Aminu dwellers started their day awaiting water supply to settle daily businesses. Little did they know that their hope is a fantasy.

Hamza Aliyu, a 200-level student from the department of Economics, is one of them. The occupant of Block G was engulfed with pity on his face after he endured hunger for the day, following the scarcity of water.

Even the reservoir of Jubril Aminu mosque that serves as an alternative to students failed to help him this time around as there’s no water inside the well.

“I’ve been living with an empty stomach since morning. No water to cook, no light to charge my phone. It’s not easy at all because water and electricity are most essential for students, in order to survive in a university,” Aliyu said.

Hamza also bemoaned how students were hampered to perform congregational prayers due to water scarcity to perform ablution.

“This doesn’t only happen to me, it affects everyone in the hostel. We are unable to perform prayer in its due time because there’s no water in the hostel to perform ablution.”

Jubreel Olamilekan, a student from the Faculty of Agriculture is another occupant of the hostel living in block G. After his clear notice about water scarcity in the hostel right from resumption, he often fetches additional water and keeps it, to enable him escape the suffering of the next day.

“Unlike the first semester break, we failed to enjoy on time water supply, and durable electricity since we resumed this semester.”

“Since we resumed this semester, water is only available between morning and evening. With this, I will fetch additional water to use the next day.”

Hostel Maintenance Explain Reason for the Ordeal

In an interview with The News Digest Press, Mallam Tukur Abubakar, one of the hostel maintenance in charge of water revealed that the unavailability of water was as a result of unstable power supply to pump water.

However, Mallam Abubakar assured that the water scarcity will come to an end if the school uses solar power as an alternative to supplement electricity.

“There’s no electricity to pump water. Also, there’s no oil in the generator that we normally use when there’s a power outage. We will be able to pump water only, if the school activates solar power,”he said.

The Ordeal In First Semester Break

The first semester break is a cloud-nine period for UDUS students who spent their two weeks holiday inside the school campus. The residents of Jubril Aminu hostel were blooming full of elation as a result of stable power supply and constant availability of water in the hostel.

However, the last few days are like Hollywood movies with a tragic ending for students due to a 48 hours of water scarcity and intermittent power supply that surged up a few days before the holiday concluded.

Ibrahim Ghazali, a 400-Level student from the Faculty of Law, and an occupant of Block H at Jubril Aminu hostel shared his ordeal about how the incident affected him.

After he retorted the popular cliché “no water, no life”, he recounted how he was left to use money to buy food throughout the first day (Friday) following the scarcity of water.

“I have spent a day (Friday) without cooking already. I can’t continue like that, so I have to buy a bag of sachet water the next day for me to be able to cook.”

“I have tons of clothes that I’m unable to wash… Even if I wanted to use the water from the reservoir of Jubril Aminu mosque, I couldn’t get enough to wash clothes. Because, every student depended on it as an alternative to ameliorate the hardships of the water scarcity”, he added.

Akindele Mohammed, a 200-level student and resident of block E also narrated his ordeal.

He said: “I have been affected badly, considering spending 48 hours without water in the hostel. I can neither cook food nor satisfy my thirst for satisfaction.

“I have to use my remaining drugs. so, I have no other choice than to buy bread for that purpose.”