“We Just Hold Ourselves”: Students Cry Out Over Locked and Poorly Maintained Toilets

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By Gladys Adeteju and Taiwo Oyedeji

At Obafemi Awolowo University, what should be a basic right—access to clean, functioning toilets has become a daily struggle for many students threatening their well-being and comfort. Students are met with frustrating reality as toilets on campus are either locked or in a very bad state. From the toilets at lecture theatres such as First Bank Lecture Theatre, 1,000-Seaters, Admin extension, to the one at the library, departments and even the Students’ Union's building. Students are raising their voices, not with entitlement, but with frustration, disappointment, and honest exhaustion.

The inaccessibility and lack of proper maintenance of these toilets is a risk to the students health as it can lead to spread of infections and different health issues such as Urinary Tract Infections (UTI), constipation, among other things.


Students Express Concerns
“I have never used the school toilets before because they are bad,” Omoshalewa said plainly. For her, like many others, the state of the toilets is so disheartening that she avoids them entirely.
A toilet in the library.

Noah’s experience is no different. “I train myself not to use the toilets in school,” he said. It is not just a habit—it is a coping mechanism. The mental and physical strain of constantly holding oneself is a reality for many, and it is one that should not be ignored.
Leah offered a calm but heavy truth: “I find the toilet inaccessible quite often. Many times I do not even bother, so I just hold myself till I get back to my hostel. There are a lot of toilets around, but it is just that they are not well kept. The school can improve on ensuring that these toilets are kept clean and made accessible to students and not only lecturers." She made a suggestion by saying, “I feel assigning people to make sure the toilets are used properly is one of the ways to ensure the toilets are kept clean.”

Wura shared a relatable incident. She said, “There was a time I wanted to use the toilet in Yellow House, but I couldn’t use it because it was bad.” That moment of helplessness is not rare as it is repeated across different corners of the campus.

A toilet at the history department.

Joshua acknowledged that, “My department toilet is okay but not really a kind of standard toilet.” Even when facilities are usable, they fall short of the basic standards students hope for. “A recent time I faced difficulty accessing the toilet was last week when I wanted to use a toilet, but it was not decent enough,” he added. His frustration deepened as he explained, “The cleaners often verge their anger on cleaning these indecently used toilets by locking them and making them inaccessible to students.” Still, he believes there is a way forward. He said, “This situation of inaccessibility of toilets can be managed if the school takes special action by spending quality time and resources on taking good care of the toilets.”
Locked toilets at the department of English 

Then, there is a recent experience at the Students’ Union that left many shaking their heads. A student visited the female section of the toilet only to find it locked. When she tried to enter, she was stopped by a man who told her the toilet “it is not a public facility.” She looked around and noticed a Captain Cook logo at the top of the door. The confusion and disbelief in that moment was deeply felt.  

Toilet at the Students' Union Building 
These are not isolated complaints. They are shared experiences, layered with emotions many students have bottled up for too long.

Students' Union Response 
Timilehin Busari, the Welfare Director of the Students' Union, stated, "The Students' Union toilet is located upstairs in the building and is currently closed for use due to some damages. The downstairs toilet belongs to the management of Captain Cook."

Attempts to obtain his comments regarding the condition of toilets in other areas on campus were unsuccessful. As of the latest update, he had not responded to messages sent to him on WhatsApp and his number was not going through.

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