By ACJ UNIBEN

In recent times, we have witnessed a devastating number of cholera outbreaks in cities and states across Nigeria. The disease, spread through contaminated food or water, causes diarrhoea and dehydration and is considered fatal if not treated immediately. One would think diseases spread through unclean environments would be a thing of the past. However, we are often faced with a severely deteriorating environment caused predominantly by human activity.

In the school environment, we have more bushes than cleared fields, subjecting students to roam through paths to get to their place of study. The school hostels frequently report harmful reptiles like snakes, leaving the students to fend off these trespassers with pitchforks and sticks. Dirt lies in heaps in the hostels, releasing toxins into the air.

Last year, JCIN, UNIBEN Chapter, did valiant work by organising a UNIBEN Clean Up to get the student body active in keeping the environment clean. Though the results can still be clearly seen along the pathway through the Faculty of Education, it flipped a switch in the minds of the students. The Go Clean Campus initiative started up well thereafter.

However, the reactions of some vendors on the school grounds were not encouraging. During the cleanup, they were recorded to have been harbouring plastic containers in heaps with the intention to reuse and recycle. While this is all well and good, it begs the question, how?

What means and measures have they put in place to ensure those plastics are properly cleaned before use? By whose standards are those “cleaned and reused plastics” approved for the consumption of students? Where do they get their water from, and why should we trust it?

If you pass by these vendors on June 12th, you would see their stores littered with flies and the gutters blocked with dirt. This does not uphold the prestige of the University, nor does it protect the health of the student body.

We believe a committee should be set up. This committee would be tasked with conducting health inspections on the food being sold and the water provided. This committee would also be in charge of ensuring food vendors on school grounds keep their environment clean, monitor the use of reused and recycled products, check the state of the food being cooked, and punish, at their discretion, those who do not adhere to the proper food safety regulations.

Cholera, though detrimental, is a disease that can be contained and controlled. However, cleanliness is an ongoing practice that yields good results. Clean-ups should not be done once a year. Each department should take a leaf from the pages of others who have taken it upon themselves to ensure that students learn in a neat environment. Hostels should be properly cleaned out and safety precautions taken. We commend the School Management thus far for their good efforts, while looking forward to more.

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