Bayero University students cry out for help over blackouts, others

By Benjamin Joseph

Saddled with the economic backlash and drastic changes in the state of the nation, students at Bayero University’s new campus in Kano are voicing their concerns.

They face number of challenges that call for urgent attention, prompting them to seek assistance from the school management and the local government community.

These challenges revolve around the long-standing issue of blackouts off-campus and poor environmental conditions, such as the bad road.

Students have been finding it difficult to manage their studies and everyday activities due to the constant blackout in the school community off-campus.

In the Kumbotso local government area, Dambare, students have been experiencing blackout for the past month, in addition to previous occurrences.

During interviews with some students in the community, they emphasized their struggles with reading adequately and obtaining water due to the lack of power.

They also mentioned the deteriorating environment, particularly the poor road conditions.

Muhammed Bello, a 500-level student from the Department of Engineering, lamented these challenges.

He highlighted the critical issues of power supply and bad roads in the environment, stating, “Students have to find alternatives to charge phones, systems, and other gadgets. We are compelled to pay business centers to charge our appliances, and sometimes we need to go to the campus even at night to get charged and study.”

Bello also pointed out the terrible road conditions, which are especially challenging during the rainy season.

A final-year student, Aisha Haruna, emphasized the ongoing challenges she faces as a student living off-campus.

She disclosed how essential stable power supply is for her studies and other tasks.

Aisha also highlighted the issue of escalating house rents in the community, expressing concern that landlords are taking advantage of the fact that it’s a student-dominated environment to increase rents.

Speaking with some of the shop owners in the community, they shared their grievances regarding the same situation.

Abdulbaki Ismail, a shop owner, said, “It’s quite tough for us as business owners. At times, we can’t make proper sales, especially with items like soft drinks, which customers expect to be cold. We have to purchase ice blocks to add, or often sell them as they are.”

The students pleaded with the local government authority to take action and address these challenges that have persisted for too long.

They implored community leaders and landlords to come to their aid by taking proactive steps to address the issues.

They also appealed to the university management to come to their rescue.“