By Oyelowo Khalid
It was dark in the night at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS). After thorough reading in the class, Musa Quadri, a 200L law student, decided to leave class for his hostel located at the back of the school stadium. To make his road visible, he lit his torch light. The moment he blessed the darkness with his torchlight, he heard, “If you don’t turn off your light, you will be beaten,” from a strange person. He started growing fears—nothing positive came to his mind.
In front of him are the gangs of smokers, turning the school stadium into the smoking arena. He saw how the cigarette light was full everywhere; white and grey smoke from the cigarette descended everywhere. Undaunted, he kept his soul on one page. As he was going, some of the gangs started chasing him because of the torch he lit.
“I was shocked that night when I was coming from night class and I had my phone torch on. I heard different voices among the smokers tell me to turn off the light, which I refused because of the darkness. I was later chased. Thank God I was faster,” he said bitterly.
After that incident, Quadri stopped going to night class for reading because he didn’t want to become a victim of Rest in Peace (RIP); the smokers might recognize him.
Like Quadri, Bello Yusuf, a 300L Islamic studies student, found his ill fate when he mistakenly slept off in the class, upon waking up and he saw 2:00 am boldly showing on his phone. Without a second thought, he started packing his books and left the class.
On his way to his hostel called Gidan Yamon (one of the hostels at the back of the school stadium), he noticed that some people blew white smoke from their mouths, fear catching him as he couldn’t move until he waited for almost 3:00 am, when he saw some students coming back from class.
“I once slept off in night class one day, and I had to walk home alone. I didn’t know how to pass when I got to the front of the school stadium building, as I realized many guys were smoking by 2:00am. I waited till almost 3:00am till I found a student that helped me through. I am not ready to be on the news as a dead guy.”
Jimoh Teslim, a resident of Oceanic Villa, also breaks silence on the incessant situation ravaging their community.
“Shock is an understatement, as I saw smokers around the school stadium building by 1:00 am, got scared, and started running. So far, I can’t stay long in night class. I will manage till the session ends and leave this area,” he said.
The School Stadium
The stadium is supposed to serve as a crucial hub for sports development, community engagement, and social events. It’s expected to provide spaces for athletes to train and compete, fostering talent and promoting physical well-being.
A place that is supposed to encourage social interaction has become a smoking arena, which becomes a threat to students.
The sad tales of Quadri, Yusuf, and Teslim illustrate the tribulations and fears students have to encounter while going to the hostel at night. There is, particularly in the evening and early in the night, always a group of smokers who puff weed every time of the night, and yet they do this unchecked. However, they don’t just drink or smoke alone but also serve as threats to innocent students going about their academic dealings.
Not only for Smoking, but also for Defecation
As the sun was about to set, Olabisi Jimoh, a 100L History student decided to visit her friend living at the back of the school stadium. When she reached one of the buildings inside the stadium, she was shocked when she saw someone excrete inside the building.
“I was shocked to see someone defecating inside the school stadium building around 5pm , maybe because people are not in the field due to fasting but it was absurd how people defecate boldly in what is supposed to be maintained.”
Kabir Ishola, a 200 level student and resident of Gidan Yamon expressed the dismay he experienced when he entered one of the buildings inside the school stadium.
” I went to stadium that fateful day to play ball but I came early and the sun is beating, I had to run to the school stadium building to protect myself from sun but the odor that welcomed me was unbearable and I had to glare into the building which I saw the tiles filled up with feces everywhere, I had to seek protection from the trees,” he lamented.
CTC-Sport Director Weighs in
Abdulrahman Olamide Muhammad, a Caretaker Committee (CTC) Sport Director and final year Political science student, emphasised on the efforts he had undertaken to curb the unfavorable situation.
“The issues of smoking and villagers littering that area with feces have been ongoing, even before my tenure. Throughout last semester, we’ve been working tirelessly with security officers to monitor the place. By 10:00pm at night, no students should be seen around the stadium premises. Our efforts last semester led to a drastic reduction in these issues, as I personally inspect the area every Monday, Wednesday, and Sunday night to ensure it’s kept clean.”
We are Going to Conduct a Night Patrol—CSO said
Speaking with the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of UDUS, Abdullahi Gwandu told this reporter that extra efforts will be put in place in order to stop this situation.
“Thanks for bringing this up. We are going to conduct a night patrol with the police and DSS, and that will deter them from such an act, and also no student should provoke them till we finish our patrol. Anyone caught will be handed over to the police.”
He gave fatherly advice that students should also make sure that they did not provoke smokers and they should walk in groups anytime they are walking late around the place till we finish our job.
Efforts
All the efforts the reporter took to reach out to the university coach proved abortive. He went to his office two times on different days, but his office kept locked.