Alatise Feranmi
It will be agreed by all that after the payment of thirty thousand naira as accomodation fee; a lot of renovations have been done in several halls ofresidence. Some of these renovations, you need not be a member of the hall before you can know them as in the cases of Queen Idia hall, Nnmadi Azikiwe hall and Kuti hall. Thechangesthat have occurred and still ongoing in kuti hall are feasibleeven to the man atthe farthest end of the University community.
Before the increment of the accomodation fee, Kuti hall has always enjoyed constant supply of water andshe also serves as the refuge for her neighboring hall whatever they’re out of the supply of water.
Currently, the hall has gonebeyond making supply of water available to her residence at the various water tanks to providing water for them in their bathrooms, so each tap and shower has water running in them and the residence now make use of showers every time they want to take their bath. They need not go to the bathroom with water. Mr H, a member of the hall while airing his view said, some of the water closets even though have water flowing in them are in a deplorable state and the certainty of water being available in them atall time is not guaranteed. This we believe will worked upon.
The water closets have also been changed in some blocks and they have water running in them andpremised on the revolutionary changes, we strongly believe that those floors that are yet to have new water closet put in them, will have theirs provided soonest.
If a blind man walks about in the University of Ibadan at night will certainly know that he is in a different environment whenever he gets to Kuti hall. The hall has security light provided at each floor and at strategic places in the hall. This innovation is to curb the increasing issue of theft that has always been occurring in the hall.Mr A, a member of the hall whle commending the effort of the hall management said that virtually all cases of theft that has occurred in the hall happened in the night when the supply of had been interrupted. So, he believes that the security light fixed at every corner of the hall will bring about drastic reductionin theft cases.
Asidefrom this, the electrical faulties in each room has been attended toand each corner has socket fixed in them. So, one can always chargeand use electricity with ease. This has indeed stop the services of electrical gurus among us, who have used the former state of the hall electricity to their advantage. Mr P,when expressing his joy about the comfortability brought about the fixing of electrical appliances in the rooms, lamented the congestion of their rooms and has implored the hall management to help look into this byreducing the numbers of occupants a room to 2 persons per room.
Before this semester, the hall management changed the door lock for all the roomsbut they have taken steps further as regards the furniture,as some rooms had their doors changed. Thewindows now have new net fixed to them. Likewise the back of the rooms have planks attached to them and this remedies the glasses of those doors that have broken.
Another place that is being given a new look is the reading room. The room has and is still being renovated, there are new cushion chairs provided for the place. With the current state of the place, it can be described as the most comfortable reading room among the halls of Residence.
However, those at the topmost floor of the hall claimed to have been exposed to Rats attack which is as a result of the open spaces in their ceiling. This may have effect on the health of the occupants.
Kutites have said that the management should help look into the fast raising attack of bed bugswhich has not beenwas not prevalent in the hall before now. So, quick preventive measures should be taken now before it goes out of hand and becomes unstoppable.
Even thoughthereis constant supply of water, there are few complaints as regards the hygiene of the water. Some cimplained about the taste of the water, while others, though okay with how the water is, complained about the tank not being cover. We believe that the hall management will take this into consideration.
Mr D, a member of block B while applauding the good works of the hall management has said that the hall management should help provide sporting facilities for them. He said, it is insulting that a hall filled with great men cannot point to a football pitch, volley and basket courts of her own.
Just as the management of the hall has played its role by making these things available in the hall, onus of maintaining it plays partly on the residence of the hall and those employed to take care of the facilities. The residence should avoid using thse facilities in a manner that will frustrate and discourage the workers from playing their part.
Life as a coin, the reactions of the residence of the hall regards these changes defer. Mr A, a member of the hall said “asking the hall management to do beyond thesethings will means I am expecting the hostel to be like my home… the current state of the hall, is what an ideal hostel should be” while a member said the hall management has not done any thing that worth extra sixteen thousand paid.
However, to a large extent, kuti hall has been an ideal setting of what a hostel should be in Nigeria and the management should be applauded for the good job well done. An average kutite will agree that remarkable changes have taken place in the hall, so the management should let the good works continue.
