By Emeka Nwokocha
Grieving over the plethora of ‘wahalas’ besetting the Nigerian state with attendant harm on the citizens’ wellbeing, my pen often dries up as l routinely commit to writing a flood of petitions to draw the attention of the Nigerian political leadership to imminent catastrophe staring the country in the face.
Passionately longing for a lasting remedy to the festering rots eating deep into the fabrics of my country’s governance system, I cannot but recall the worsening state of Abraka Hall – the “Almighty” male hostel of Delta State University.
On one special occasion, in April, 2025, to be precise, l set out for a journey to my alma mater, Delta State University (DELSU) Abraka, in company of my friends and former undergraduate course mates far back in the 90s – Comrade Benjamin and Comrade Ovie.
The journey to my Alma Mater was simply to honour an invitation from one of our illustrious course mates, Ese Umukoro who had expanded and advanced his academic dossier to the rank of doctoral degree.
Dr. Ese Umukoro was marking the great academic achievement with a Thanksgiving Service, complemented with a party, and we were obliged to celebrate the remarkable occasion with him.
By His divine grace, we patiently and carefully maneuvered through the unimaginably broken and gully riddled Abraka road – a testament to the poor governance system in Nigeria, marked by widespread corruption and chaotic economic indices.
Not daunted over the near impassable Abraka road we have the misfortune of commuting on daily and risking our lives, we courageously piloted our vehicle through the “death traps” – potholes and gullies, and safely arrived the university – Delsu Campus 3, venue of the Thanksgiving Service.
Upon arrival, we were welcomed by the convivial atmosphere that saturated the arena, just as the ambience of the university community was palpably felt.
It was truly an exciting moment as we exchanged pleasantries with some of our lecturers who also graced the occasion. After decades of not setting eyes on these intellectual behemoths, it was ennobling to behold their faces again.
To be precise, the most inspiring moment for us was the warm embrace from Professor Elo Ibagere, an accomplished scholar, human encyclopedia and Provost of the University’s Faculty of Law, Oleh campus. It was a fun-filled gathering of the moulders and makers of men (lecturers) and the ‘made men’ (former students) that will be etched in our memory for decades.
Basking in bursting enthusiasm, we set out for an expedition – a walk around Campus 3 to recall some of the events and scenes that defined our academic toil in the department of Mass Communication.
Frankly speaking, those past memories weren’t quite pleasing then, but they unprecedentedly made an impressive and unforgettable impart in our formative years as students of the university.
As we walked around the campus with gait, the sights of Ascan hall – a faculty lecture centre, and the faded old storey building that one time housed the Vice Chancellor’s office stood ‘pale’ and desolately starring at us.
Tucked in the bowel of the university is the unforgettable large and old-fashioned library complex conspicuously overlooking the old Vice Chancellor’s building. The library complex, obviously looking lethargic due to ageing and inseparable bond with analogue facilities, still boasts of its core relevance to the university’s unbeaten academic growth and excellence till date.
Without mincing words, a great number of bright brains had been nurtured and baked at this library over the decades and their continuous contribution to advancing the frontier of knowledge across branches of disciplines at the global educational space have been very outstanding and loudly commendable.
As we walked farther into the campus with emboldened excitement mixed with a tinge of anxiety and sobering, we matched through the undulating landscape of the campus, meandering through the narrow spaces between the mini buildings that once provided us some spaces for lectures.
However, amid the excitement that pops up in our hearts, the relics of a poorly funded and managed university in the past years starkly stared us in the face, just as we pensively felt the urgency for a remake and redesign of every structure in the campus to give it the befitting status an ivory tower deserves.
Staying on the pace, we continued our expedition and excitedly landed our foot at the small classrooms that once hosted our lectures.
We could recall some of the interesting past scenes and moments that shaped our fraternity as students.
Impressively, we demonstrated some of the striking and unforgettable scenes and banters that coloured our students’ life, even as we cast a mournful look at the fading lecture halls.
Bringing to play their innate dramatic prowess, Comrade Ovie and Comrade Benjamin fascinatingly did a perfect rehearsal of the social activities and events that defined our campus life, with perfect mimicking of the mannerisms and scary demeanors of our lecturers that casted a lasting impression of their astuteness and strictness in our appreciative and humble hearts.
Truly, there was no dull moment, we were actively in control of the day and proudly proved our dexterity at documenting every scene of our rehearsals in pictures using our smart phones.
Without ado, we matched further and happily landed at the ‘Almighty’ Abraka hall – male hostel.
At the main entrance of the hostel the characteristically unkept surrounding stared us in the face.
Then, we had a brief chat with a weary looking man posing as porter who guided us to observe a clumsy documentation which was verbally done, then we walked into the hostel.
Ulala! Nothing has changed for better. Surprisingly, the ugly sight and oozy environment of the hostel had got worse in recent years.
Ovie and Benjamin led the walk through the entire parts and departments of the hostel. We saw everything about the hostel, the occupied and vacant bed spaces. In fact, apart from the students that have life, everything about the Abraka hall is “DEAD.” It is a slum, ramshackle structure with broken facilities, obviously not an ideal place for students to live in. We saw the broken facilities – toilets, bathrooms and more.
In fact, the entire structure bearing the name of Abraka hall is in deplorable state and seriously begging for urgent attention of Delta State government. I am shaking my head vigorously !
Then, a pathetic scene played out. A young woman had just brought her son to the hostel as he was billed to start his university education. Upon sighting the lamentable state of the hostel, obviously inhabitable, she was confused and distraught as the realities of the mental torture and suffering the hostel’s broken facilities would inflict on her son daringly stared her in the face. She was visibly worried as she stared helplessly at the shattered facility called Abraka hall.
I could figure out her regret and serious concern about the safety and comfort of her son, even as she contemplated taking her son back to her house, but it was not possible as the action would ‘rob’ the young man the opportunity of starting university education that academic year.
Then, we saw the need to encourage her. We started a brief chat with her and she did express disappointment at the poor state of the Abraka hall as we listened with rapt attention.
Her lamentation could be likened to a lone voice in the wilderness, just as the authorities will not hear her, even if they did hear her, nothing will be done to remedy the situation. That is how serious and hopeless our society has become in recent times.
There is no gainsaying the fact that Abraka hall is filthy, unkept and unfit for students to live in. To be candid, in sane climes, students will not be “quarantined” in that facility.
Painfully, the unsanitary condition of Abraka hall ignominiously underscore the nonchalant disposition of Delta State Government and the managers of the university towards the wellbeing of the citizens.
As concerned patriots wonder why students are cramped in Abraka hall and subjected to unhealthy living condition, urgent attention to Abraka hall is the panacea that will calm frayed nerves.
It is common knowledge that a functional public institution in the class of Delta State university should be able to provide a befitting accommodation for students that aligns with globally accepted hostel policies that prioritize clean running water, descent toilet, bathroom and kitchen facilities, including regular electricity.
Succinctly speaking, the neglect of the wellbeing of students in Abraka hall and other ramshackle hostels in Delsu is alarming and regrettable.
The VC, Prof. Samuel Ogheneovo Asagba must not feign ignorance of this mind boggling fact. It behoves him to take decisive action to fix the broken facilities in Abraka hall and other hostels to protect the students’ right to a comfortable accommodation and promote scholarship.
In the same vein, the Governor of Delta State, Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori, and the Commissioner for Higher Education, Prof. Nyerhovwo Tonukari should take immediate and decisive action to relocate the students in Abraka hall to a befitting accommodation to show proof of the government’s sincerity to addressing societal challenges of which the decrepit and intolerable state of Abraka hall is a typical case.
In a similar vein, the alumni association of DELSU should pay attention to the bad state of Abraka hall and take frontal step to address the rot and give the students a sense of belonging.
Finally, in the words of Edmund Burke “The Only Thing necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing.” This is a fitting reminder to DELSU Student Union Government (SUG) to be conscious of the challenges students are faced with on campus and be courageous to compel the university authority to frontally address the challenges. The SUG should know that the primary purpose of student activism on campus is promotion and protection of the rights of students.
On that note, when the SUG feigns ignorance in the face of obvious hazards the students are subjected to in the campus, then, the essence of campus activism is regrettably defeated. As l round off this piece, l charge the stakeholders of Delta State University, Abraka to call to mind the didactic quote by Noble Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, “The man dies in all who keep silent in the face of tyranny.”
Emeka Nwokocha is a journalist, writer, and human rights activist. He writes from Warri.
