Thousands of University of Lagos students are grappling with an acute accommodation crisis as limited hostel spaces, rising fees and soaring off-campus rents force many into financial strain, prompting calls for stronger regulation and expanded student housing, writes WALE AKINSELURE
For thousands of students of the University of Lagos, Akoka, securing accommodation has become an annual struggle marked by anxiety, frustration and rising financial pressure.
With an undergraduate population of about 35,000 students and only between 8,000 and 10,000 available bed spaces, competition for on-campus accommodation has remained fierce. Each academic session, students scramble for spaces in the university’s roughly 15 hostels, where the official cost is N80,000 per bed space.
Beyond these hostels are privately managed facilities on campus such as the Women’s Society, Femi Gbajabiamila and El-Kanemi hostels, where accommodation now costs at least N710,000 per bed space.
While the struggle to be randomly selected for the very limited bed spaces is a yearly one, there is also the usual bed space racketeering, as some simply win the ballot only to resell them for between N250,000 and N350,000.
But, the university administration, led by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, recently warned that students found buying or selling bed spaces risk eviction and a ban from on-campus accommodation until graduation.
The cost of accommodation has steadily risen. Last year, hostel fees increased from N43,000 to N80,000 per bed space, with the university citing the need for renovation and sustainable maintenance amid a growing student population. Private hostel rates also jumped from between N250,000 and N500,000 to over N710,000.
In previous years, many students coped by squatting, popularly known as “floating” in hostels. However, following renovations, the university clamped down on the practice, warning that overcrowding would lead to rapid deterioration of facilities.
A fourth-year student, simply named Moses, said the pressure for on-campus accommodation intensified this year due to rising living costs.
Findings by The PUNCH show that rent in areas surrounding the Akoka campus—such as Abule Oja, Iwaya, Onike, Bariga, Sabo, Somolu, Pako and Chemist—now ranges from N500,000 to N2m per annum.
Abule Oja, the closest community to the campus, records some of the highest rates, with rooms going for at least N500,000 and self-contained apartments starting from N1m. Some serviced apartments reportedly cost N2m and above. Even students who live as far as Makoko still pay about N500,000 annually.
Moses lamented that with the inflation in the economy, students have to grapple with high transport costs as well as exorbitant rent charges by landlords and agents.
Moses said, “So UNILAG is really, really short of bed spaces, and the challenge has always been there, even from the days of our lecturers. I’m in my fourth year. I have been balloting since my first year and I have never got a bed space.”
According to him, the removal of fuel subsidy and rising transportation costs have made off-campus living increasingly unattractive.
“What happened this time is that because of the subsidy removal, transportation costs are very high. So students don’t want to stay off campus. A bus ride to campus is not less than N200 or N300. So everybody wants to stay on campus.
“Also, the school is trying to regulate overcrowding because in a room meant for eight people, you could have over 20 people. They renovated some hostels last session, so they are stricter now,” he explained.
“The economy is biting hard. Rent has always been expensive, but not like this. Almost everybody has hiked prices. It’s outrageous.”
Another student, simply named Adeola, lamented that landlords were exploiting the accommodation crisis to charge exorbitant rent.
“Students already know that UNILAG has accommodation problems. Facilities are not enough, so many students are forced to rent houses outside the campus. Landlords are taking advantage of this and charging exorbitant rent. Sometimes they charge as much as N500,000 per bed space, with four people in a room,” she said.
She also questioned the cost of private hostels on campus.
“Even on campus, some private hostels are almost only for the rich. They cost over N600,000 per bed space, and you may still have two or three people in a room. If outsiders are exploiting students, should the university also do the same?” she asked.
Credit: Punchng
