One hot day in 2017, Oyindamola Adeniyi felt a flutter in her lower abdomen. She knew she needed to use the toilet quickly. But the thought of which toilet to use made her break out into a cold sweat: there was no toilet available for students.
Now in her final year at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), the trauma of that day in her first year has remained etched in Ms Adeniyi’s memory.
“Back then, I was living in another town called Ilupeju Ekiti, which is like 20 minutes away from Oye. I was in a hurry so I ate hot food,” recalled Ms Adeniyi, who is now in her early 20s.
“In 100 level, we used to fight for seats in class and I did not want to stand throughout the class. We were supposed to have a test immediately after. Before the class ended, my stomach started acting up and I wanted to relieve myself. I was so disturbed.”
The nearest toilets to Ms Adeniyi are the ones in the Faculty of Arts. But they were locked. They were locked on her first day in the university, in 2016. Now, in her final year, five years later, they are still locked.
Ms Adeniyi’s next option was the toilet at the school’s clinic, a three-minute walk from the class. When she got there, the staff at the clinic told her she could not use their toilet. Her pleas that she was suffering a runny stomach fell on deaf ears.
Having run out of options, she grabbed her bag, stopped a motorcycle, and decided to head home.
The motorcycle’s sudden movement sent the contents of her stomach splattering on her body.
“I was so embarrassed, the bike man was shouting and students gathered. I began crying and begging,” she said.
“People were pleading for me though. We were taken to a house near Oye market to wash the bike and clean myself. That day, I wore a stranger’s cloth home and I felt like the ground should swallow me.”
Ms Adeniyi is among the thousands of students at FUOYE who do not have access to basic, clean toilet facilities in the course of their studies.
Since 2011 when it was established, FUOYE has not provided toilet facilities for students across its faculties.
Once in a while, the students stumble on an unlocked toilet and, expectedly, the crowd of users renders it unfit for use. As a last resort, students of the university turn to open defecation.
David Amodu, a final year student and the president of the English and Literary Studies Department, said the problem not only affects the students but lecturers too.
Mr Amodu, who has been familiar with the issue since he gained admission into the school in 2016, said female students are more disadvantaged, owing to their need for toilets and adequate water supply, especially during their periods.
“It doesn’t speak well of a 21st-century institution like our prestigious FUOYE, that one of the few straws that will be breaking our camel’s back is lack of toilets,” he said.
“I have many female friends. How about changing their pads, cleaning up during emergency flow? It means students would have to jump on bike and return home, missing tests and lectures, and not all lecturers would understand that.”
Budgetary Allocations to FUOYE
In the last ten years, FUOYE has received N25.9 billion from the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Education, according to data provided by Dataphyte, a media research and data analytics organisation.