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Socialist Democracy September - October 2003

 

UNAD�s Omolayo Hostel

PLACING PROFIT BEFORE LIVES

By Dare Akinsola, DSM UNAD

On the 7th of August 2003, the state government of Ekiti State gave the management of Omolayo hostel, situated in the University of Ado-Ekiti a week ultimatum to renovate the place or get it closed down until further notice.

This was a backdrop of a concerted effort of the executives of the hostel to inform the whole world on the dilemma of the occupants of the hostel. The hostel which was commissioned and let out in 2001 has become an eyesore and booby trap to students.

The leaking decking, stinking nature and railing of the staircase were among other things which need to be pulled down and a new one reconstructed. The hostel which was given out for N5,500 and N8,000 for 6 bedded and 2 bedded respectively have witnessed from inception till date about 14 cases of people falling from the stair case with fatal injuries. The recent case is that of a female student who had two of her teethes removed as result of the fall. There are also cases of encroachment by reptiles and the worst of it all, is the fact that if care is not taken, there might be an epidemic especially in the girls hostel as a result of the stinking nature of the hostel.

It should however be noted that this struggle started during the Adebayo (AD) led state administration but all attempts to track the management of the hostel down were frustrated by the state government, which issued an order then that no media house in the state must grant Omolayo-exco interview about the state of their hostel. Also, the Omolayo executives refused to organise protests as that would have served as another means of forcing the management of the hostel down to putting the welfare of their tenants before profits.

The situation in this hostel has confirmed the ruins inherent in the placement of the basic infrastructure needed for social development in a country into private hands where immediate profit will be prioritised. Hence, the need for the retrieval of this hostel from the management and the state government for public use. It should be placed under the democratic management and control of the representatives of the state government, the school authority and students. This alone is what would prevent corruption and greed, the pretext on which today's government is selling off the wealth of the people into private hands. The state government should renovate it and let it out to student at affordable prices as against the exorbitant prices placed on it by the present management of the hostel in collaboration with the Oyebode led authority.

 

 

 

Socialist Democracy September - October 2003