By Habeeb Olokooba
Anyone who looked into Shola’s eyes could decipher that he is unhappy with the cancelled lecture for the day.
The day was simultaneously bright and scorching. The sun shone brightly on the earth’s surface as there was no sign of rain. The premises of the Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (Kwara CAILS) wore its usual busy look. Everyone was engaged in one activity or another. While some students were in class, receiving lectures, others were busy chatting.
The case was slightly different for the Year 2 Mass Communication students at the college. They were neither busy nor in their leisure time. In fact, the final-year students told UDEME they were supposed to be having lectures then.
According to Adekunle (real name withheld for fear of being victimised), he claimed the lecture would have been held, but the regular classroom for the lecture was due for repairs as the roof of the class was in a messy state.
“We should have gone to call the lecturer in charge of the lecture, but it doesn’t speak well for the lectures and repairs to be taking place at the same time,” he told UDEME.
“Today thus becomes a waste of time, as this is the only lecture we are having for the day,” he added.
According to Adigun Azeez, a Year 1 Shariah and Common Law student, he explained to UDEME how poorly the roofing work was done by the contractors who were awarded the building.
“Though I was not in school when they did the renovation, a proper examination of this building would make one aware of the mess it had become in a relatively short time. I’m sure during the rainy season, these roofs will be leaking.’’
Tunde Carpenter, an expert in the field of carpentry, who was briefed to repair part of the damaged roof told UDEME that the roofs were not properly done. ‘’Because most of the logs used are rotten, it is possible for termites to infest them easily. This led to the deteriorating state of the classrooms. It is not a doubt that they renovated this building, but what I’m more certain of is the fact that they didn’t change much from the old logs used in roofing this building,” he said.
‘’Roofing is the essence of renovation. From my experience in this carpentry job, I can tell that the buildings here deserve better carpentry work. If good logs were used, the building would last more than ten years, at least without any repairs,” he added.
Renovation
Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (Kwara CAILS) has long been in need of classrooms due to the old state of the classrooms in the college. In order to put an end to the horrible nightmare faced by both students and staff at the college. Emirate lecture rooms A, B, and C, among other classes, were earmarked for repairs at the Kwara State Ministry of Tertiary Science and Technology in 2019. The project was awarded in February 2021. The total sum of N24.9 million was awarded for the renovation of the three.
Three different contractors were awarded proportionally for the project. Qboys Global Resources Ltd was awarded to renovate Emirate Lecture Room A, while Lecture Room B was awarded to Fuse Engineering Ltd. Corner Stone Unique Eng. Venture was awarded the renovation of Emirate Lecture Room C. These had a collective value of N24.9 million.
N8.6 million was awarded for renovating emirate lecture room A. Lecture rooms B and C received N7.2 million and N9 million, respectively. These lecture rooms were targeted to accommodate no fewer than 100 students respectively.
Research Reveals companies are Unregistered
A search for the availability of the companies at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) portal returned near void. Only Fuse Engineering Ltd was active. This means the other companies are either not registered with the commission or have their registration revoked for being inactive.
However, an alternative search on NG-Check.com for the status of these companies revealed the registration status of Qboys Global Resources Ltd. but the status of Corner Stone Unique Engineering Venture returned void.
Qboys, which was awarded a construction contract, was registered as a manufacturing company outside its scope of operation. And even as a manufacturing company, it has failed to be active.
The availability of Corner Stone’s Unique Engineering Venture remains a mystery.
Classrooms in perfect condition—School Management
However, in an interview with the college registrar, Mr. Afolabi, he acknowledged that the college has been lacking buildings and classrooms for a very long time. He, however, recounted his gladness about the renovation project. “We are really enjoying the classes since the renovation. The classes have been fine, and they are in perfect condition,” he explained it to UDEME.
‘’Although there was a fault in a particular classroom, it’s normal, and we have fixed it. The government remembers us, and we are glad about that.’’
This report was produced under the Udeme project of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).