UNN Students Decry Water Scarcity On Campus

Students of the University on Nigeria, Nsukka, have appealed to the management of the university to fix the malfunctioned university central borehole. Those that spoke with our correspondent on Thursday said the borehole malfunctioned since the middle of last year, and no serious efforts are being made to repair it.

A first year student, who refused to mention her name, said carrying water in a bucket from the ground floor to the third floor where her room is located is a big challenge to her.

“I’m not used to carrying water like this,” she complained. “Every morning, we line up to fetch water from tanks. Instead of repaying the damaged borehole, the university bought tanks where tankers supply water to us. Before we go to lectures, we fetch water to dress up. It is discouraging to me. At times, there won’t be water in the tank. We drink the water that we don’t know the sources.”

Another student, called Jane, demanded to know why the borehole has been abandoned even when the university increased school fees of the students by 40 percent.

“The university provided tanks where tankers supply water to us. I continue to ask what happened to the water system of the university. There are water taps dotted over the hostels, but not running. It is a thing of concern to most of us. In the morning, we line up to fetch water. At times, the water may not be available and we resort to going to the neighbourhood to get water. This is happening after I paid about N176, 000 as school fee. Where did the money go?”

A third year student of the Department of Biochemistry said, “We have got used to this ugly situation. At times we go behind Zik’s Flats in search of water. My pity goes to first year students. Some of them carry bags of sachet water for bathing. Their money will soon finish. It is àlso stressful.”

Meanwhile, a postgraduate student of the university has lamented what he called “the forceful eviction of PG students from hostel last November”.

He said the incident made him abandon his doctoral seminars. The student, who identified himself as Mark, claimed that the university authorities forcefully told the students to vacate their rooms “claiming to repair them, but in reality, it was to effect accommodation fee increase”.

He said he had not returned to the university since then. “I live in Makurdi,” he said. “I duly pay for accommodation because I don’t want to stay off-campus. But what they did to us was something else. They asked us to leave. I later realised that the plan was to increase the hostel fees after some repairs. I am at the stage of doctoral seminars. But I have not gone to UNN since then. Some of our colleagues that are still doing their course work were forced to squat outside the campus with its inconveniences. I won’t be able to do that. If not that I have gone far, I would have switched to Benue State University. The eviction caused me infections because I had to stay in a room with two other persons.”

Inquiries indicate that the sumo of the central borehole damaged, and efforts are ongoing to replace it since last year.

UNN Students Decry Water Scarcity On Campus is first published on The Whistler Newspaper