COLOURLESS WATER, COBWEBBED TANKS (1): ”I was with teary eyes when I saw what its inside contains“
By : Olokooba Abdulwasiu
While many students either born with silver spoon in their mouth or not,for healthy purpose subscribe not to the waters from the hostel water-tanks , mayhaps due to its atimes tastefulness and colourless or on the assumption and the belief of ‘prevention is better than cure’, still, quite large numbers of students have no option in whatever ramifications, than to make use of this from-main-reservoir-to-tank waters. In this report by the NEWSDIGEST press, the searchlight is on why most of the ‘storex’ (water tanks) in UDUS hostels are left uncovered.
It was sunny as usual in sokoto at the UDUS hostel, on a Sunday afternoon, Emmanuel walked his way back from the school stadium.Thirsty and tired, after sweating it out on the football pitch for two hours under an intense hot weather that can dry a fish within a twinkle of an eye. Emmanuel was in dire need of water to water his itchy throat.
Emmanuel got to F Block , which is the nearest Block to the front entrance of Jibril Aminu Hall, he was closed to ending his plight. There standing with full of water is a black tank. He met a gang of four Yaro boys drinking directly from the tap of the tank with their cupped hands. Emmanuel was too thirsty to allow some Yaro boys to enjoy from what is meant for students, he made them shift aside for him.
Like all other tanks at various other Blocks, it was legibly engrave on it, with whitish paint, an inscription: ‘RENOVATED BY SUG 2017 EXCOS, OFFICE OF WELFARE DIRECTOR’. This is undoubtedly evidencing the fact that those tanks were rehabilitated by Maibasira’s administration through the office of the Welfare Director, which is not yet up to 2 years.
Having drank to satiation, Emmanuel turned off the tap. He was about proceeding to his hostel room when he caught sight of the top of the tank of water he just drank from. “I climbed up the stair to take a look down inside the tank. I was with teary eyes when I saw what its inside contains. Maybe, I had drunk in poison or dangerous micro-organisms from the water. God knows.” Emmanuel said with worry written on his face.
The tank was covered by cobwebs and its water was as yellow as that of a dirty tank. Clearly seen dusts and refuses were rooted at the bottom of the tank. It was on this basis that Emmanuel deemed it necessary to check the condition of other tanks in other blocks.
The one in Block D and that of the newly brought one in Block B were even worst. They were not only being covered with spiderwebs as they were without their covers, but also they have served as abodes for insects, containing microscopic organisms. Emmanuel was shocked.
“Even some that were with covers, in Block E, A, G and C, were just partially closed which paved way for smoke or other emissions from bushfires or wood heaters into the water filled tanks.” Emmanuel revealed.
“HALL GOVERNORS ARE TO BLAME ” – SU
While reacting to the issue, the SU Welfare Director –A.A.FUNTUA, claimed to have no knowledge about it and shifted the blame on the absence of Hall Governors.
“First and foremost, I will thank you for letting me know because I don’t even know. Besides, this is a work of the Hall-Governors.” He reacted.
As a way of justifying his ignorance on the issue, he blaimed it on the absence of Hall-Governors on the campus because of the just suspended Asuu strike.
“It is the work of Hall-Governors to ensure that everything is alright in those blocks and if things is not right in the blocks, they should let me know. And if the problem is beyond my capacity, I will take it to the school management. Strike is on, and these people are not around. It is impossible for me to say that I know everything.” AA Funtua said.
He further promised that, as a matter of urgency, he will ensure to effect the change tomorrow.
“Having heard this now, I promised that I will find a solution tomorrow Insha Allah by taking it directly to the Dean Students’ Affairs. He vowed.”
“DIRTY WATER-TANKS NOT A THING OF SUPRISE”
Peter, a 400level student of Faculty of Agriculture, explained what the conditions of these tanks have been since his year of entrance into the school, last four years back. He made it known that they have been unwashed and uncovered for long, since last time it was renovated by the SUG 2017 EXCOS.
“Since last four years those tanks have been like that, not washed and mostly not covered sometimes. Even those SUG 2017 EXCOS that claimed to have renovated them during their regime, just only washed those tanks and installed proper pipelines to those tanks. And since then, there is no any appearance of washing any of them. He disclosed.
He sees those tanks as storages of water for students which store and avail them the chance to use water anytime of the day.
“Their importance is that they store water when the school off the water coming directly from the reservoir. People always use the water stored by these tanks pending the time they will bring another water from the reservoir. And mostly used for drinking, cooking and washing by the students. He mentioned.
As a student who has been living in the hostel for long, Emmanuel voiced that he doesn’t used to drink from the water stored by the tanks because he views that the water is not pure for drinking.
“I only used the water to wash or to cook. I don’t used to drink from those tanks because they are dirty. If you look at the water fetched mostly from any of those tanks, you will see some particles like sand and sometimes this Algae is very grown in the tanks since they are not washing them. In fact, those tanks have turned into habitant for a micro-organism called Salmonella Typheae causing Typhoid Disease” . He explained.
While stating the channels he subscribed to instead of drinking from the water in the tanks, he revealed that he used to buy sachet water, also known as ‘pure water’, or in case he doesn’t have money, he would wait till when water will be on from the direct reservoir.
“Whenever I need to drink, I always buy pure water and if I don’t have money, I will wait till the time they will on the water from the reservoir”. He stated.
In his opinion, he said that one of the major causes for 80 percentage of the students complaining about being contacted with a sudden typhoid disease is because of them drinking from the water filled by the tanks.
“Almost 80percent of the students in this school are always complaining about having Typhoid and it is is because these people drink directly from these tanks.