PUBLIC TOILETS CLOSURE AND UNICAL STUDENTS' ORDEAL

Public Toilets in University of Calabar were closed down because the staff working in them were removed by the management.The students are lamenting over closed public toilets and want the management to re-open them.

Toilet is one of the most essential public amenities in every society. Apart from the regular toilets installed in the rooms and compounds, individuals, cooperate organizations as well as the government construct toilets in public places like markets and motor parks for the general public’s use.

Public toilets are remedial in some situations. Their importance is most significant when one is depressed by faeces and looking for a place to ease oneself. They save some folks from embarrassments.

Unical is one of the schools with many toilets. Apart from the toilets in the school hostels, some classrooms and offices, there are equally other toilets meant for public use. These public toilets are located at various places with staff deployed into them to make sure that they are properly cleaned up.

When Prof. James Epoke became the VC of Unical, he refurbished the public toilets to standard with ultra modern toilet facilities, cisterns, sinks and Geepee thanks to supply water steadily. Also, some of the toilet buildings with bad infrastructural facilities were equally refurbished.

Public toilets in Unical are very important to students, especially female students. Charity Enung told Campuslife that each time the hostel toilet gets messy, she makes use of the public toilet. “There are times when the female students will mess up the hostel toilets so much. I hate using dirty toilets. Sometimes, the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU), will go on strike and no body will be around to clean the hostel toilets so it gets dirty. What I will do is to go to the public toilets”.

But since 29th February, 2015 public toilets in Unical have been closed. Students who usually hoped on using the public toilets have been severally frustrated. One of them is Etido John, a 200 level student in Faculty of Management Science. He said “the other day I was heavily pressed. I came down to the school to use the public toilets but I was frustrated because all the toilets were locked. I went to the hostel and pleaded with one of the male students and he allowed me to use his toilet. I was embarrassed.

A 300 level student of History and International Studies, Cynthia Ando told CL Media that “it is very frustrating to come to school and be looking out for where to ease oneself. The public toilets are locked. Those in the hostel can easily go down to the hostel and ease themselves, what about those that reside off camp?

But, students that usually use the school classrooms for night class reading would not care if the toilets were closed down. To them, the area around the classroom can make a good toilet. They urinate at any available space they can locate. CL Media was shown a place which was flooded by urine. Students who use the New Art Theatre for night classes were accused of urinating along that area.

Students in Social Science block would not wait till the toilets are reopened before they start urinating. They made use of the area behind Department of Public Administration to urinate both in the day and night hours.

Students in the New Library and students in Natural Science Lecture Theatre (NSLT) would not equally wait for the toilets to be re-opened before they zip-down to ‘pee’. They urinate at hidden corners behind NSLT 1,2,3 and 4.

What about students that make use of the Unical Abraham Ordia Stadium? Micheal Ejiofor, one of the sportsmen told our reporter that “since the toilets here are not open, we pee anywhere around in the field.

One of the cleaners complained to CL Media of the students’ misbehaviour. When our reporter met with Florence, a cleaner, she was sweeping the BPA hall located at Political Science Department. She said: “These students should know that some of us are old enough to be their parents. Why should they be urinating anywhere they see? The other day I picked up a sanitary pad with blood along the corridor. I know it was a girl that used it when she came for night class and left it there.

CL Media was informed that the reason for the closure of public toilets was because the staff who usually worked in the toilets have been sacked.

Mrs. Idiongesit is one of them. She said, “We were sacked since February. The school told us to stop working with them since February. That was why we stopped working. They said they don’t want us again that they want to employ full staff. They asked us to go and you know it is not their fault neither is it ours”.

One of the toilet staff who works at Political Science toilet spoke to CL Media in anonymity. She said: “Initially we were working as part time staff before the school said they don’t want part time workers any longer. They asked us to go. But I am happy they have called us back. Some of us are back now and we have been fully employed as full time staff. Some of us are not yet back”.

Is there any challenge in public toilets? Margaret, one of the staff told CL Media that “when we left, some students broke into our toilets and were shiting in it till it became very full. We cannot flush it again because it is blocked inside. The students were using ordinary paper and carton paper in the toilets. I don’t know why some students will be so heartless. I have reported to the authority so that they will come and excavate it.

One of the staff in Political Science toilets told our reporter that when they were not around, students broke the toilet seat. Pointing at one of the toilets, she said: “This toilet seat was not like this before we left. Now we have come back to see the seats broken. I know it is the handwork of the students who were shiting on it. The door was locked when we left, now the door has been broken and there is shit everywhere. I want the school management to come and fix the toilet facilities.

One of the staff who gave her name as Mrs. Adams said she was owed 10 months salary before she was dismissed. “While we were working as part time staff, we were owed for 10 months. Please I beg the people in charge to pay us. They said they will pay us but we are still waiting for them”.

While few of the toilets have re-opened lot more are yet to re-open. When our correspondent visited the toilets between Pavilion 2 and Pavilion 3, the burglary was tightly locked.

What has the management to say? Mr. Effiong Eyo Bassey is the Information Officer of Unical. He said, “It is true that the public toilets have been locked. I am aware of that. The cleaners who were initially in charge of the toilets were working on part time.

Mr. Eyo continued, “You see, when we employed them, we made it known to them that they were working on part time basis. So it is not something new to them. Now, we are engaging them as full time staff. Their outstanding salaries will be paid to them. It is a matter of time”, he concluded.

Use of public toilets is not free in Unical. To urinate, users will pay N20. To excrete, users will pay N50. One of the cleaners who spoke to our correspondent said the reason for the charge was because the money was needed to fetch water when there is no water in the tank. She spoke in anonymity. “You know, we don’t make money from this place. But we have to fetch water. We have to transport ourselves from house to school every day. This is my business and the school does not pay me when they are supposed to pay. I have children. I have a family”.

Now that the staff will be engaged as full time staff, they will be salaried like staff of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. CL Media gathered that as part time staff, the cleaners were paid N10,000 monthly. Then, students had to pay to use the toilets.

But the students want the management to make the public toilets free of charge for the students. Nkeji Obiora, 300 level Education Administration and Planning told CL Media: “The toilets should be free for the students. I don’t know why they will be collecting money from us. It is in our school fees. The Management should make the toilets free of charge. Those women in the toilets are exploiting us.

To Nathaniel Bamidele in Faculty of Agriculture, “the students should not pay to use the toilets. The lecturers and other visitors in the school should be paying to use the toilets and not the students.

But Mrs. Hope said the money collected does not go to the school management. We use it to fetch water, buy brooms, tissue and soap for the people to wash their hands”, she concluded.