UNIZIK Okofia Campus: Students Groan Over Bad Roads, N750,000 Rents As VC Promises Relief

By Polycarp Onwubiko

Students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Okofia-Nnewi campus, have lamented the deplorable condition of access roads and the high cost of accommodation, urging the university management and relevant government authorities to urgently address their plight.

The complaints come as the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ugochukwu Bond Anyaehie, assures students and parents that the campus will witness significant infrastructural improvements under his administration.

The access roads leading to the two gates of the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Okofia, are in a terrible state, making movement difficult for motorists, commercial motorcyclists, pedestrians and students, particularly during the rainy season.

The situation has raised concerns about the infrastructural planning that accompanied the establishment of the campus, especially the absence of decent access roads and adequate student accommodation.

This reporter witnessed the deplorable conditions during a visit to the community to convey his son, a Radiography student, to a privately owned hostel.

Beyond the terrible roads, students are reportedly struggling with accommodation shortages and exorbitant rents, with a self-contained room costing between N500,000 and N750,000 or more.

Speaking on the road conditions, a student, Miss Favour Onuchukwu Eyisi, called for the complete reconstruction and tarring of the roads, with separate lanes for pedestrians and vehicles.

She said: “The road is so deteriorated that even vehicles cannot ply comfortably towards the small gate. They can get stuck because the road is not well structured.

“Students and commercial motorcyclists practically share the same road. Sometimes, you come out and struggle with a motorcycle rider over who should move first. This can cause accidents and other problems.

“If the road is properly tarred with pedestrian and vehicular lanes, movement will become easier.”

On accommodation, Eyisi acknowledged that the university had recently provided a hostel for female students but appealed to the Vice-Chancellor to establish similar facilities for males.

“Before now, it was difficult to get accommodation because of the scarcity of lodges and high rents. Although there is now a hostel for female students, I don’t think there is one for males.

“Landlords increase rents without proper maintenance. Sometimes, they ask students to vacate their apartments during renewal and subsequently increase the rent.

“This leaves students stranded, forcing some to squat with others while trying to raise money for accommodation. Affordable hostels within the campus would reduce these problems,” she said.

Another student, Udeh Ebubechukwu Raphael, described the living conditions at the campus as deplorable, questioning why a health sciences institution should operate without decent access roads.

“For a health science or medical school, the standard of living here is low. Medical students cannot even access good roads.

“Why do other campuses, like Agulu and Awka, have good roads while our own campus, where the medical school is situated, is neglected?

“We feel abandoned by the university authorities, the Federal Government and the Anambra State Government,” he lamented.

On accommodation, Raphael disclosed that the university’s existing hostel was exclusively for female students, leaving their male counterparts to seek accommodation in the private rental market.

“We have just one hostel, and it is only for girls. Male students are left to find accommodation themselves.

“Students pay between N500,000, N600,000, N750,000 and above for a single self-contained room, not even a room and parlour.

“How do you expect students to afford such amounts when they have to live around the school for five years or more?” he queried.

UNIZIK: JOY IS COMING

Reacting to the complaints, the Director of UNIZIK’s Directorate of Information, Comrade Alloy Attach, who spoke on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor, said the university management was taking steps to address the infrastructural challenges at the campus.

He explained that the Governing Council, chaired by Barrister Monsur Olugbenga Kukoyi, had recognised the deplorable state of the Nnewi campus and declared an infrastructure emergency following a council meeting and inspection of facilities there.

In an optimistic message to students, parents and other stakeholders, Attach said: “There is a song titled ‘Joy Is Coming’, and I am paraphrasing that title to tell concerned students, stakeholders and parents of the College of Health Sciences, Nnewi/Okofia, that joy is coming.

“This Vice-Chancellor believes that his mantra, ‘A Greater UNIZIK Is Possible’, will be achieved.”

He disclosed that the university had already provided a hostel, while corporate organisations, banks and TETFund were being approached to support hostel development, an auditorium and other infrastructure upgrades.

On the access roads, Attach explained that although the university could handle internal roads, the major roads leading to the campus required government intervention.

“The internal roads within the campus can be taken care of by the university, but the access road leading into the campus is the responsibility of the state and Federal Governments.

“However, the Vice-Chancellor is making efforts to attract government attention to the area. Once access to the campus is guaranteed, it will bring about a 100 per cent turnaround in its development.

“God willing, in the next one year, that place will record a tremendous facelift,” he assured.

Attach also appealed to the Anambra State Government and influential stakeholders in Nnewi to support efforts to rehabilitate the access roads.

He described the appeal as a clarion call for collective intervention, noting that good roads would accelerate development around the campus.

THE EXPECTATION

While the university’s assurances have raised hopes, students and parents are awaiting concrete action on the ground.

The provision of a female hostel is a welcome development, but the need for additional accommodation, particularly for male students, remains urgent.

The Anambra State Government, Federal Government, UNIZIK management and other stakeholders must therefore collaborate to rehabilitate the access roads and provide essential facilities.

For students at Okofia, the demand is simple: good roads, affordable accommodation and a decent learning environment.

The Vice-Chancellor says joy is coming. Students are waiting to see it.

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