News Room — Philemon Obeze
Students at the University of Jos are facing severe challenges as ongoing power outages have drastically slowed down activities across the campus. The disruption has affected everything from academic work to necessities, leaving students and staff scrambling to adapt.
The power cuts, which have plagued the university for months, have left students unable to access their results, transcripts, and crucial services such as mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). Departments, faculties, and directorates are being forced to rely on generators and solar panels, but even these are far from sufficient.
The university’s Senate building, housing key administrative offices, only manages to run its generator for one or two hours each day. Offices like the Student Accounts Department, responsible for handling all financial transactions, must depend on costly generators and solar energy.
The issue began in July when the Jos Electricity Distribution Company (JEDC) disconnected the University of Jos from the national grid due to unpaid debts totalling ₦126 million. Since then, the campus has been without a reliable power supply. These debts have accumulated over time, dating back to the administration of former Vice-Chancellor Sabastine Maimako, during which power was also intermittently cut due to non-payment.
For students like Miss Jennifer, a 400-level student currently on industrial attachment, the situation has been deeply frustrating. Residing in Abuja Hostel, she shares the challenges of living in darkness and constantly searching for ways to charge essential devices.
“We charge our phones in the banks within the school or visit our friends off campus,” she said. “To get water, we have to trek to construction sites behind the hostel or rely on water vendors (Mai Ruwa). It’s so frustrating.”
The outages have disrupted daily life, as students struggle even with basic tasks like bathing due to the lack of power needed to pump water. Abel Pam, another student in the Village Hostel, echoed Jennifer’s frustration, noting that without additional jerry cans to store water, many students go days without being able to bathe.
Mr Adamu Ogana, a PhD student residing in the Postgraduate Hostel, acknowledged the challenges but noted that the generator in his hostel is turned on for about two hours each day. “I make sure I charge my devices once the generator is put on,” he said. “Sometimes, I visit friends off-campus to charge my devices. I hope the light is restored soon, especially as many of us have started our thesis.”
For students working on projects, the impact has been particularly dire. One recent graduate, who chose to remain anonymous, explained that they had to leave campus to conduct practical work for their projects, resulting in unexpected costs. “We had to go to facilities outside the school for the practical aspects of our projects, paying for chemicals and materials, which increased our expenses.”
Miss Kate, another recent graduate, shared her frustration over the added financial burden. “It’s unfortunate that after paying ₦130,000 in school fees, we were asked to pay an additional ₦6,000 for fuel for generators and refreshments for our supervisors during project defence. With the current economic hardship, it’s not easy for most of us.”
The security situation has also worsened due to the power cuts. Mr Jotex Godwin from the university’s security division revealed that theft has increased, with thieves taking advantage of the darkness to steal cables and commit other crimes. “Light plays a major role in helping us do our jobs, but we’ve had to be extra vigilant and have caught some of the culprits.”
The Student Union Government (SUG) is actively trying to address the issue. President Corm Sambo Peter stated that the union had met with the management of JEDC during the second-semester exams to plead for power to be restored long enough for students to complete their exams. “As a union, we are following up with the school management to quickly resolve the issue with JEDC,” he said, adding that academic activities are set to begin next month.
In a recent development, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Tanko Ishaya, during the University of Jos Alumni Lagos Chapter reunion, sought support from the alumni as the university’s electricity bill has skyrocketed to ₦80 million monthly. He attributed the increase to the higher electricity tariffs for Band A users set by the distribution company.
Professor Tanko also appealed for alumni support in the university’s shift towards solar energy, presenting it as a more sustainable option for powering the institution in the future.
With students and staff left in limbo, particularly with the upcoming new academic session and the National University Games, which the university is set to host, UNIJOS faces a challenging path to resolving its energy crisis.
