By Ahmad Deedat Zakari
The students of Federal University, Lokoja, FUL, are not finding it easy as they are confronted with the accommodation problem.
Weeks after the university resumed academic activities, following the suspension of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU strike, many students are stranded. Many are yet to find a place to live.
The tenancies of most students had expired during the ASUU strike. However, the continuous stay of some students whose tenancies expired had led to quarrels between them and their landlords.
The problem of accommodation in Nigerian universities is not peculiar to FUL students. However, the students are devastated as the school has no functional hostel on the two campuses.
The Daily Reality spoke to many students of the institution who were mainly afraid and sought to speak only on the grounds of anonymity.
A student said many of the departments had been moved from the Adankolo Campus of the institution to the main campus at Felele, and students were asked to begin lectures there in January. According to her, the students can not afford accommodation on the two campuses and are still writing examinations on the Adankolo Campus. She also said landlords are unwilling to take part payments for the remaining months in Adankolo Campus.
Other students narrated their ordeals of living with friends and relatives pending when they get accommodation.
It was also gathered that the flood, which ravaged many parts of Lokoja, is another reason accommodation has become more complex and expensive.