By Maestro
On Thursday, 6th of April, a whatsapp user, @Webster, shared the picture of an average-sized monitor lizard to the official Zik Hall whatsapp group, Issues Affecting Zik Hall, which was sighted around C Block. It is no news that the condition of living in the hall is not optimal, but when we speak of C Block, Napoleon’s quote in George Orwell’s Animal Farm comes to mind: “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than the others.” Napoleon has in mind to tell other animals that the equality of all animals is not disputed, but despite the equalities, there still inhere some measures of inequalities.
Demography of C Blockites
In the accommodation allocation system that Zik Hall has practiced in the past two years at least, it is evident that there are barely freshmen on the block. Majority of C Blockites are stalites and finalists who did not get accommodated in the finalists’ D Block. It is not misplaced to say that stalites are the last to be considered where accommodation is concerned, and in this minute consideration, they majorly get the least share of the divide. This is so because of the understandable preference for fresh students, who get automatic consideration for accommodation, same as finalists. On the other hand, the few stalites who find their way to get a corner in Zik, they mostly end up in C Block.
State of Facilities in C Block
In the buildup to this piece, this reporter can categorically state that there are better toilets in both A block and B block when compared to C Block’s. Most of the toilet doors in A block and B block are mostly locked, making it hardly accessible to non-occupants of these blocks. This measure is mostly been used by floor representatives to take proper care of the toilets on their floor, making it easy to nip those who use the toilets improperly. Replicating this in most of the toilets in C Block is almost impossible due to the fact that most of the doors are damaged.
Even non-Zikites would attest to the bad state of the toilets despite not been occupants in the hall. An Idiate, Awoite or a Katangite who mostly use Zik as their route to class, can state the state of the toilet that they pass by in C Block on their way to class by the strong stench that oozes from the ground floor toilet on the walkway. To further affirm this fact, a finalist in D Block expressed that C Blockites are the ones who mostly use their (D Block) facilities. Why would they want to use a toilet not on their block if not that theirs are not in good conditions?
Broken Sewer Pipes
From an occupant of the ground floor of C Block who pleaded anonymity, he averred that, “The condition of the ground floor especially is so bad as the smell that comes from behind the gutter is so annoying and we complained through the Google form sometimes ago, and yet nothing was done about that. Even the bathroom on the ground floor isn’t in a good condition too but nothing has been done about all of theses issues.”
Apart from the gutter that stenches unpleasantly, another cause of bad odor is the broken sewerage pipe at the back of the block that is stationed to pass feces from the toilet to the sealed pit. The pipe has been damaged at its end for some months, disconnecting it from the pit, making the feces drop on top of the pit which leads to occasional odor that takes over the atmosphere for a persistent amount of time. It should be noted that some health hazards of human contact with exposed feces can cause cholera, jaundice amongst other diseases.
Reptiles creeping into rooms
A former occupant in one of the rooms on the ground floor relayed to ZHPO correspondent that he once found a large reptile in his room, which most probably had found its way into the room from the broken window net. This story further validates the aforementioned picture of the monitor lizard shared on the Hall’s whatsapp group. The bush behind the ground floor is large enough to be a breeding ground for these beasts. Thankfully, the efforts put into clearing these bushes will go a long way in reducing such hazards in C block. However, it is important to take measures to ensure that the living conditions of the occupants are not further hampered.
In light of these multi-faceted C block challenges, it is highly necessary for appropriate quarters to intervene in the improvement of the block’s conditions. Floor representatives, the health minister and other stakeholders should lobby for these interventions before avoidable harm is occasioned. Equally, campaigns and measures to effect proper maintenance of facilities by the block’s occupants is needed now more than ever. A maintenance culture complemented by effective interventions in revamping the facilities will doubtlessly resolve the infrastructural challenges of living in C block.
