Inside UDUS Female Hostels Where Residents Suffer Poor WASH Facilities

When Damilola Faith, a 300-level student of the Faculty of Arts, gained admission to study at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDUS) in 2019, she weighed her accommodation options. She settled for the school’s hall of residence because she learnt of its relative affordability and proximity to classes. Residents in the 2020/2021 session paid #10,090, while it cost N15,090 for the 2022/2023 session. Ms Faith, however, regrets her decision due to the unhygienic state of the toilets. 

In Ms Faith’s words, “The dirty toilets are not the fault of the management or the cleaners. It is the fault of the students”.

UDUS, like other institutions, provides accommodation to select students per session at an affordable rate. Most rooms in the female residence halls accommodate between 8 to 16 students. 

Like other schools’ residence halls, the management employs cleaners to keep the hostels and the environs clean. Despite the services of cleaners, students still suffer from dirty toilets and an unhealthy environment.

Nana Asmau Hostel, a female hall of residence in UDUS, has three bathrooms and two toilets per floor. Each floor has six rooms with an average of seven occupants per room. About 42 students compete for the three bathrooms and two toilets on each floor. 

“I don’t know if it is dirtiness or they don’t see anything bad. We have to cope with one other.” Ms Faith lamented, unable to fathom why some students misuse the convenience, filling the atmosphere with offensive smells.

A Threat to Residents’ Wellbeing

“I came to this school without any prior sicknesses. I was hale and hearty. But living in the hostel in my year one affected my health greatly,” Azeezah, a 300-level student who concealed her last name to avoid victimisation, lamented.

“I once had an asthma attack in the toilet due to the odour. Thanks to my friend that came in on time (to rush me to the school clinic). My health became worse after living in the hostel. School toilets would have been better if students imbibe basic hygiene,” she continued.

Living in the school halls of residence as a fresher was not easy for Azeezah. She recalled that she contracted toilet infections frequently and had frail health.

Doctors say that dirty toilets cause toilet infections in women or compel them to hold the urge until they find suitable alternatives. The latter is also harmful as it can cause Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) due to the bacteria staying too long in the bladder. 

According to Dr Shilpi Srivastava, an assistant Professor at the Institute of Development Studies, who is passionate about off-grid sanitation in the global South, said people are okay with paying to use clean toilets. 

“The only requirement is to keep them clean so that they do not spread the infection among users, particularly women, who are vulnerable to infection,” she said. She further linked dirty toilets to ill health, which explains Azeezah’s experience.

“It was unbearable for me. I ended up in the hospital most times. Sometimes, at the school clinic or UDUTH, the doctors kept saying it was because of the environment. The Sokoto environment is alien to many people, like me, and the least students can do to help one another is to ensure a clean environment, including toilets,” Azeezah recounted her harrowing experience.

“I didn’t have it easy in my first year. I missed out on tests and assignments. Alhamdulilah, for the company of good friends, I managed to scale through”.

The poor state of the hostel toilets and her frail health prompted Azeezah to move to another apartment outside of the school.

A Plea for More Toilets 

“I have lived in three different school hostels since I gained admission to UDUS, and I can say the number of toilets is too small for the number of students using them,” Fatima, a 400-level student from the Faculty of Social Science who refused to give her last name for fear of victimisation, observed.

She added that maintaining the toilets is difficult “due to the overpopulation in the hostel and some students’ dirty habits”.

“Coming from different homes and backgrounds implies that we have different exposure. Some students still use pit latrines in their houses and are not used to water closets”.

She noted that some female residents dispose of their used pads in the bathrooms and toilets.

Kawthar Bukola Yusuf is a final-year Department of Public Administration student who has lived in several residence halls since her first year.

She said, “We only need to appeal to the management to build more toilets. Also, we sometimes have drainage issues because there are some toilets where water doesn’t flow very well. They have fixed it several times, but it keeps recurring”.

“The management has done its part by providing toilets and cleaners though the toilets are not enough, the students should do better. I use the hostel toilets and always flush,” she continued.

She further explained that many students prefer to do their business and throw it in bushes to avoid catching an infection. She advised that the school provides more toilets, the cleaners clean properly, and those who soil the toilets be punished.

Students’ Union Reacts

Fatimah Abdulaziz Abdullah, a 500-level student in the Faculty of Agriculture and the Vice Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Students’ Union Government, expressed her dissatisfaction with the toilets’ usage. 

She said, “The problem is from us, and the solution is also within us; the management is not living with us, yet they have tried their best by providing us with the cleaners and chemicals they use to disinfect the toilets.”

She noted the onus on the students to keep the toilets clean. 

Dean Students’ Affairs Reacts

In an interview with the University’s Dean of Students Affairs, Prof. Umar Aliyu said the situation will be looked into after the students resume fully for the 2022/2023 academic session.