Students of the University of Jos on Tuesday staged a protest over a prolonged power outage affecting hostels on campus.
The students said the blackout had lasted for about one week and disrupted academic and social activities within the institution.
Students Demand Immediate Restoration
During the protest, several students expressed frustration over the lack of electricity and water supply in the hostels.
They said the situation had made living conditions difficult since the beginning of the current academic session.
One of the protesters, Felix Bala, said students had repeatedly complained to university authorities without getting any solution.
“Since our resumption, we have not had power in our hostels,” Bala said.
“We were told that power was cut off. We demand the immediate restoration of electricity,” he added.
Water Shortage Worsens Situation
Furthermore, students explained that the power outage also disrupted water supply across the hostels.
According to Bala, the university depends on electricity to operate water pumping machines.
As a result, students faced severe water shortages while toilets and hostel facilities remained unclean.
He said students waited from Thursday until Monday for improvements, but authorities failed to restore the services.
Protesters Reject Appeal to End Demonstration
Meanwhile, another student, who spoke anonymously, said some off-campus students appealed to protesters to end the blockade and allow university officials to address the problem.
However, the protesting students rejected the appeal and insisted they would continue the demonstration until authorities restored electricity and water supply.
The students warned that they would not suspend the protest until the university responds to their demands.
University Officials Yet to Respond
As of the time of filing this report, attempts to reach the Students’ Union Government President, Senator Younglan Talyoung, proved unsuccessful.
Efforts to contact other university officials also failed.
The Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof. Chris Piwuna, did not respond, as his phone remained switched off.
