In an exclusive interaction with OAU Peeps News Agency, erstwhile Welfare director of the Obafemi Awolowo University Students Union, Ajewole Martins O. has passed a few comments on the state of the accessibility and use of toilets on campus. In his piece, he states some of his experience as Welfare Director in advocating for an improved access to toilets. Find below his comments;
TOILETS AND THEIR ACCESSIBILITY ON OAU
Having access to toilets that are in good and acceptable state and situation within OAU campus timely will be a great accomplishment if accomplished and currently, its possibility can be likened to the possibility of having access to the office of the Vice Chancellor of the school; mostly, in the academic area. This high degree of inaccessibility cannot be disconnected from factors like inadequacy of the facilities, over-personalisation of the facilities by some set of people and unnecessary and unreasonable restrictions of students by the attendants of these facilities. In many part of academic areas today, the only perceivable odour is offensive one from Human wastes. Back of lecture theatres like AGLT A-C, AUD 1-2, BOO A-C and the back of our laboratories and some offices epitomize this assertion above.
Having access to toilets that are in good and acceptable state and situation within OAU campus timely will be a great accomplishment if accomplished and currently, its possibility can be likened to the possibility of having access to the office of the Vice Chancellor of the school; mostly, in the academic area. This high degree of inaccessibility cannot be disconnected from factors like inadequacy of the facilities, over-personalisation of the facilities by some set of people and unnecessary and unreasonable restrictions of students by the attendants of these facilities. In many part of academic areas today, the only perceivable odour is offensive one from Human wastes. Back of lecture theatres like AGLT A-C, AUD 1-2, BOO A-C and the back of our laboratories and some offices epitomize this assertion above.
The fight against
this monster that is denying our environment of good and palatable
odour would have been won successfully during my stay in office as
Welfare Director if not for the unfriendly use students usually subject
these facilities to ( for example, our hostels' toilets) and this in
turn justify the action and motive of the people that personalise them
and those attendants that restrict students from their usage.
Personally and
particularly, when I was Welfare Director of the Students' Union, I had
series of meeting with attendants of these facilities in all faculties,
Deans of some Faculties and HOD of some departments on the need to make
toilets facilities accessible for students, but despite getting
positive outcome from these meetings, students always abuse the right of
use they have on these facilities which makes turning it to a privilege
by oppressors inevitable.
However, as long
as feeding is important, so is accessibility to toilets and on this
note, agitation for timely accessibility to toilets that will be in good
state and situation must start in order to awake authority to do the
needful. I will also like to implore our students to always see toilets
like our second bedroom.
Thanks.
Ajewole Martins O.
#OAUpeeps #WorldToiletDay
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