ALUTA VERSUS THE KONDO REGIME OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II HALL

EDITORIAL

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In the early hours of Thursday, September 17, 2015, Queen Elizabeth II Hall was in full activity. Some of the hall’s porters and supervisors raided the rooms at about 12am to 2am, banging the door with large kondo sticks, asking the room occupants to open the door or forcing their way in with an extra key if they did not answer, then asking them to show their Hall ID cards to verify that they are legitimate members of the hall.

The incessant banging on each door echoed through the hall preventing Queens from sleeping or reading in peace as one would expect at such time. The tables turned when some Queens felt that they had had enough around 2am. They brought out their whistles and called the attention of Queens to the need for unity now than ever. Noise rose from every corner of the hall, the spirit of aluta came alive. Queens came, most half-naked, to the porters lodge. Only the locked gate prevented them from going on the streets on a protest.

For about two hours, Queens voiced their opinions about the inhuman treatment. The raid had brought up other issues that burdened Queens. The Porters stopped the raid amidst booooo noises from Queens. Although Abefele came around, Queens stayed put, causing no destruction but speaking their minds without fear. Later, recognizing that not much can be done until the gates were opened, Queens returned to their rooms, many not finding sleep.

By 7am, a congress was called by the executives to plan the next set of actions. But many Queens were shocked when the hall warden DR. (Mrs.) Catherine Chovwen came in. The congress lasted for about one and a half hours at the porter’s lodge. Dr. Chovwen listened to the complaints and promised to take the students recommendations and make living conditions better. The deputy dean of students also came around.

The Queens hall raid and the subsequent congress brought to the fore the lack of respect for the student by most porters. The management meetings which do not have student representatives most times make laws that do not favour them. An example is when the hall management decided to increase the number of occupants in the rooms without prior notification or apology. The hall management need to remember that their main reason for being in office is to make lives better for the students, not unnecessarily worse.

There is an urgent need to control male staffs in female halls of residence. There have been numerous cases of degrading conduct by some of them around the hostel. It is wrong for a male porter to barge into a room by 1am without prior information, exposing the students to both shock and fear. As rightly noted by the hall warden, a male staff should not go into a room without been accompanied by a female staff or without prior information to the occupants of the room.

Also, the relationship between porters and students is generally poor. Most students see porters as antagonists who will fine them at the slightest mistake or provocation. The porters too hold the opinion that most of the students are spoilt brats who lack home training. This cat and dog relationship affects the policies made by the management and the reaction of students. The relationship can be made better by creating platforms like congress regularly for the student and hall management to interact. A congress need not be called only in times of crisis like Thursday.

What angered most Queens on Thursday is the hypocrisy of the hall management. Did they just realize that there were squatters at the fourth week of second semester, with just a few months to the closing of the session? Why would there be a need to raid for squatters if the porters had done well their job of checking ID cards at the gate? But some of them do not take their jobs seriously and do not routinely check the IDs before students are allowed in.

The issue of squatting itself is preventable if the hall management allocates rooms as fast as possible. Most students resort to squatting because bed spaces are available but the process is slow. Also, some of the rooms had to be closed till they were repaired. Hence, most Queens resorted to squatting hoping that the rooms would be repaired fast enough but they were not.

The school also needs to collaborate with private hostels outside and within the school. The school should liaison with organizations and landlords to make such hostels more affordable and safe so that students will be free to go live there. This will reduce drastically the issue of squatting in halls of residence on the campus.

 

It is important to remember that students in any hall of resident have their fundamental human right. Care must be taken to ensure that students are not pushed beyond their sane boundaries. They should be considered and duly represented in management meeting because the decisions taken affect them. There should also be increase mutual relationship between the hall management and the students to ensure a better community for all.

 

 

ALAWODE IBRAHEEM – EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

TAWOSE  OLAJUMOKE – DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

EGBE EMMANUEL- DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OPERATIONS

IBEGBU IFEANYICHUKWU – NEWS EDITOR

OJO ADEREMI – POLITICAL EDITOR

BINUYO TOMIWA– FEATURES EDITOR

ATILOLA ESTHER– ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

RUFAI SODIQ – INTERVIEW VOX POP EDITOR

LANLEHIN TOHEEB–SPORTS EDITOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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