Students at Niger State’s tertiary institutions have spoken out about escalating accommodation costs, particularly off campus, and have begged with the state government to intervene.
Students who expressed concern that most federal and state government-owned tertiary institutions do not have enough space to accommodate students admitted on an annual basis lamented their experiences dealing with landlords and estate agents to find decent housing outside of campus.
While some of the houses lack basic utilities for comfort, the students complain that agents and landlords continue to exploit them with a 100 percent increase in space, including old and outdated buildings and those made with mud and sand.
The students are pleading with Governor Mohammed Umar Bago to intervene to stop the actions of agents and landlords in terms of arbitrary rent increases even when such residences have not been updated at the permanent site of the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Gidan-Kwano area.
Some students claimed that it is not that there are no houses, but rather that house owners or landlords and their estate agents take advantage of the scarcity of school-built accommodations on campuses to make life extremely difficult for them.
After struggling to obtain school tuition and other monthly levies, the students stated that they are now faced with the greater challenge of finding a place to live during the course of their education, which they describe as a yearly ritual with rent increases or renewals.
Some students are accusing landlords and agents of exploiting them, particularly first-time or first-year students who are at the mercy of shylock agents and landlords due to a lack of hostel accommodations on campus.
The findings revealed that the cost of one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or three-bedroom self-contained and single-room apartments where toilets and kitchens are shared by ten occupants varies depending on the location, availability of water, and electricity in Minna, the state capital, Kontagora, Lapai, and Bida.