By Promise Adiele
Accommodation, adequate housing, shelter or whatever nomenclature that is applied, is a very important index of development at every level of human consciousness. A man who does not have a roof over his head is rudderless, tossed by the proverbial ill-wind that blows no good.
A homeless man is a menace to the society; he is incapable of reasonable thinking and harbours an infinite capacity for mischief. When people are homeless, they lose every sense of decency and belonging. Even animals have shelter in various degrees. If therefore shelter is very important in the lives of men, it goes without saying that Nigerian students in tertiary institutions deserve adequate accommodation for their rigorous, academic endeavour.
Many times, education in Nigeria is criticized and berated as one of the worst in the world. The critics indulge in these mindless acts without scrutinizing the various significations that have given education a poor label. One of the many sore points of poor educational standard is accommodation, especially in tertiary institutions. These days, university and polytechnic students go through the crucible to attend lectures and pursue their academic dreams.
Although some universities have made efforts to provide hostels for the students, times have proved that these halls of residents are grossly inadequate for the teeming number of students, sometimes, the halls of residence deplorable and are uninhabitable due to very poor maintenance culture.
In most instances, where the halls of residence are habitable, they are inadequate to accommodate the students. The result is that many students seek accommodation in town with all the hazards and security implications. In fact, some students, unprotected from the innumerable vagaries of our society, have lost their lives in their hostels located far away from the school.
In some universities, year one students and final year students used to have automatic accommodation while the regular year two and year three students faced the lottery of balloting. Regrettably, these days, year one and final year students are no longer given automatic accommodation. This exposes the students to danger and harm.
In the long run, these students deal with issues that practically negate good education and positive academic attitude. Many state universities do not have hostels within the campuses. In places where hostels exist, the situation is regrettable, something that should never be seen in any part of the world. These have given rise to the establishment of private hostels within the university environment. However, these hostels are so exorbitant. Some parents who can afford the hostels are reluctant to do so because their children are unprotected, exposed to the ever constant snares in our society.
It is therefore the duty of the government to provide adequate hostels for students across tertiary institutions. Also, existing hostels should be maintained properly so that our students can have decent accommodation where real academic engagements can take place. It is not enough to build universities across the country, it is also very important to provide conducive environment that will ensure proper academic activity. If our students are not doing well, if some of them are frustrated, it could be traced to their accommodation woes.
The truth must be told, a student who spends six hours every day on the road can never be productive in his or her studies. Unfortunately, children of the rich, the decision and policy makers, do not go through this kind of torture. They are either whisked away to school abroad where the condition is near perfect or they are immediately enrolled in private universities where exorbitant fees are charged. In that case, it is children of the poor, the workers, the toilers who grapple with these anomalous conditions in the country.
The private sector should also play a vital role in providing accommodation for Nigerian tertiary institutions. They can reach an agreement with the government to build hostels inside the campuses. In this case, the land is provided completely free of charge and then, the fees for the accommodation is subsidized. After a stipulated period when the investor must have made an appreciable gain, these hostels should be handed over to the universities.
It is not enough to criticize Nigerian university graduates without first looking at the conditions they have to deal with in the pursuit of their academic glory. It is only an insane society that will disregard its educational sector while echoing the stale mantra of “the youths are the leaders of tomorrow”. Indeed, if the accommodation situation in Nigerian tertiary institutions is adequately tackled and solved, it will greatly improve the standard of education in Nigeria.
