By Ruth Okomiso

One  basic requirement for any University  is a serene, tidy atmosphere to enhance studying and research. Without that,  academic excellence and personal development would be difficult to achieve, thus conducive environment is a sine qua non required of any university striving for academic excellence.

 However, students of the Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai have found to their dismay and chagrin that they are forced to make do with deplorable  school environment.

Students told  our reporter that their accommodation just like the teaching and learning environment falls below acceptable hygienic and aesthetic standards. Some students report finding to their shock, dangerous reptiles like snakes within the school environment

Perhaps students accommodation poses the greatest challenge to IBBUL, as less than 20% of  its over 12,000 students populationa are accommodated on campus. Sadly,  hostel development projects embarked upon few years ago were not executed with the expected diligence and urgency, and therefore remains uncompleted.

Another pressing issue is the standard of the hostel accommodation, which, to put it mildly is considered unfit for human habitation.

 The hostel lack water supply,  and students are hard pressed scouting for water here and there.

This distressing situation sometimes contributes to the students missing their classes or going late for classes. Missing classes can also lead  to the failure in a particular course, which most people would attribute to dullness.

Furthermore, lack of water contribute to general uncleanness of the hostels which has been identified as one of the causes of students falling sick frequently.  The bathrooms and toilets are usually very dirty and smelly. These conditions are unbearable for most of the students who are prone to diseases. The toilets facilities are so bad that the students visit the clinic regularly or have to travel home to treat toilet related infections.

In a related development, landlords who own off-campus hostels (lodges) see the hostel's deplorable condition as an advantage to build houses and rent them at an outrageously expensive price. Most times some of these lodges are not even worth the price but because anywhere is better than the hostel, the students would accept the lodge as it is. Other times, the landlords will go as far as threatening the tenants of the houses to pack out from the house just because they are not able to meet up with an unnecessary increase.

One of such lodges is SHAM LODGE located at Tanko Ilimi area of Lapai. The house rent of the lodge was suddenly hiked from N70,000  (seventy thousand naira) to N80,000  (eighty thousand naira). Most occupants of the house could not cope with the sudden increase and had to park out.

They also felt terrible because there was no significant change done in the lodge to warrant the increase.

In terms of security, the university has so many unauthorises entrances. These entrances are bush paths which give everyone, student or not, access to the school premises.

 This is a security risk because anyone can walk in, perpetrate any evil act and then walk out without being noticed or suspected. This is in total contrast to the long queue formed at the gate as security men check the students’ identity cards before allowing them into the school premises. That process can be described as futile because with or without an identity card anyone can still enter the school and carry out their activities.

The possible solutions to these challenges include the following:  Renovation of the hostels to make them fit for students to live and learn. There should be adequate toilet facilities put in place to avoid students coming down with infections from the dirty environment.

Another possible solution is the fumigation of the school environment as it is quite unpleasant having encounters with dangerous, crawling animals while walking within the school. 

On the security issue, the security officials as well as the students have to be alert. The security officials have to employ other methods of making sure the students are safe and are in a crime-free environment.

All said and done, the task of taking IBB University to the next level requires resourceful and purposeful administration.  This calls for more  support from the state government and all the stakeholders. Perhaps, of more urgency is the need to build more students' hostels and staff quarters.

 Okomiso is 300 level Mass Communication student at IBBUL