Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, widely celebrated for its iconic architecture, lush greenery, and breathtaking landscapes, has for years been hailed as “Africa’s Most Beautiful Campus.” However, beyond this admired image lies an unsettling reality: students struggling daily with unhygienic and poorly maintained restrooms across the campus.
The situation is particularly dire in male hostels such as Adekunle Fajuyi Hall, Awolowo Hall, and Angola Hall, as well as in high-traffic locations like the Students’ Union Building (SUB) and faculties including Arts, Education, and Administration. Students complain about foul odours, broken fittings, poor lighting, and, most critically, a lack of water supply to flush waste, creating not only discomfort but also serious health hazards.
Abiola, a 100-level Philosophy student from Mozambique Hall, narrated her struggles with campus restrooms, particularly in academic buildings. She described the toilets as a “last resort” due to their unhygienic state. “Since gaining admission into this university, my experience using toilets on campus has been terrible. Some of them are generally bad and poorly maintained, which puts students, especially us females, at risk of contracting infections,” she said.
Recalling a specific incident, she mentioned the library restroom. “One day, I tried using the library’s toilet, and honestly, it was an awful experience. The floor was wet and messy, and the whole place smelled bad. Throughout my stay that day, I didn’t see a cleaner come in to do their job,” she explained.
Ayomide, a 100-level Engineering Physics student residing in Adekunle Fajuyi Hall, shared similar frustrations. He described the toilets in his hostel as “deplorable.” According to him, cleaners do wash them in the mornings, but by evening, the facilities are overwhelmed with waste and unbearable stench. “We sometimes fetch water ourselves to flush, because most of the time there’s nothing in the tanks,” he said.
Ayomide added a disturbing detail about his daily struggle. “I always rush whenever I go in because of the swarm of mosquitoes inside. If you stay too long, they will feast on you. The experience is always disgusting, and I leave as fast as I can to avoid more discomfort.”
This grim reality stands in sharp contrast to UNESCO’s WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in Schools program, which stresses that safe toilets, clean water, and sanitation are crucial to effective learning. The inability of Nigerian universities, including OAU, to meet these global standards leaves students wondering if poor sanitation is a result of negligence or simply a product of financial constraints affecting federal institutions.
Recently, the university management has embarked on major projects such as remodeling the main gate, constructing a pedestrian walkway, building a central research centre, renovating Oduduwa Hall, and refurbishing the Amphitheatre. While these reflect infrastructural ambition, many students question whether they address the university’s most pressing problems.
For students like Udoh, such projects represent misplaced priorities. “In my view, some of these projects are needless. The money being spent could have gone into providing standard toilets or fixing the ones already in use. How does a car park or walkway help us when basic hygienic facilities are so terrible?” she asked, visibly upset.
A visit to the toilets at Adekunle Fajuyi Hall revealed broken water pipes, leaving many toilets without running water. Consequently, users leave waste unflushed, worsening hygiene conditions. Poor lighting in these restrooms and surrounding corridors further raises safety concerns, especially at night.
The Students’ Union Building (SUB), once hailed as a state-of-the-art facility after a 2022 renovation led by OAU alumni and former Chief of Defence Staff Lucky Irabor, has now become a shadow of its former self. The building, intended as a hub for student activities, once had clean and fully furnished restrooms. Today, both toilets in the building, one beside Captain Cook Kitchen and another upstairs, have been shut down due to neglect.
Students expressed mixed reactions about the SUB toilets. While Omololu Abiodun, a 100-level Dental student, admitted he never even knew there were toilets in the building, Stephen, a Dramatic Arts student, recounted how he once found them locked during an event, leaving him stranded.
For final-year Computer Engineering student, Olagoke Peace, the deterioration reflects Nigeria’s deep-rooted lack of maintenance culture. “Initially, the toilets were convenient, but poor use and neglect ruined them. Students themselves contribute by disposing of sanitary pads and clothes in the toilets, clogging them and making them unusable,” she noted.
Attempts to reach the former Welfare Officer of the Students’ Union, Timileyin Busari (S&T), to discuss the situation were unsuccessful. Although he had promised an interview after examinations, subsequent calls and messages went unanswered.
The Dean of Student Affairs, Professor J.A. Odedire, however, admitted that management is aware of the crisis. He acknowledged that the major challenge lies in the water supply, which prioritises hostels, leaving other academic facilities struggling. “We are aware that toilets are in bad shape, and we are doing all we can to make them functional. The water issue is our biggest obstacle,” he said.
Professor Odedire also emphasised that students themselves share in the blame. According to him, poor usage habits, such as failing to flush when water is available or disposing of waste items inappropriately, worsen the situation. “Sometimes, when chambers are opened, we find boxer shorts or even jeans flushed down. Is that decent?” he asked.
He gave an example of a faculty that renovated its toilets and left them open to students from other departments, only for the facilities to be completely vandalised within 24 hours. Out of frustration, the Dean of that faculty locked both the toilets and the reading rooms. “Cleaners cannot be expected to face such filth every morning. It is unfair,” he added.
In conclusion, Professor Odedire called for attitudinal change alongside infrastructural solutions. “Until students begin to use facilities responsibly, this problem will persist. Management will continue working to improve conditions, but students must also learn to act decently. Clean and safe toilets are a collective responsibility,” he stated.
For now, however, the disconnect remains: a university widely admired for its beauty yet struggling to provide its students with the most basic of needs a clean and functional restroom.
