The management and students of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) are on the war path over the restriction of movement around Morocco, a students’ rendezvous on the campus. Is the management right to give the order? IBRAHIM JATTO (400-Level Biology Education) asks?
LIKE in other higher institutions, the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) has its own peculiar terms used by students. On the campus, terms such as “DV”, “Infinity”, “Ice Cream”, “Berlin Wall”, “Bush” and “Nfa” among others, are not new to students.
But, of all the terminologies, the word “Morocco” is the most popular. A first time visitor to the school would be inundated with the word as soon as he approaches the school gate. But then, Morocco is a name of a country in North Africa. In UDUS, the name means another thing.
Morocco is commonly used to refer to the areas around female hostels – both the I Block and Nana Asmau Hall of Residence – where male and female students meet to discuss. During the day, the area is a classroom of sorts, where students engage in extramural tutorial. In the night, Morocco assumes the image of a motel; it is the perfect rendezvous for lovers to meet.
No student knows how Morocco came about, but some alumni said the area may have been the meeting point of students since the institution was established.
Lately, Morocco has been a subject of controversy between the management and students. The authorities are concerned over the students’ activities around the Halls of Residence occupied by female students beyond 10pm.
The management was said to have been disturbed by the “declining morals” amongst students, who engage in erotic discussion and acts around the dim-lit area at night. The university is dissatisfied with the “illicit affairs” going on around Morocco.
To restrict movement and stop the “illicit affairs”, the management is enforcing a regulation prohibiting male students from walking under shelterbelt around the female halls as soon as it is 10pm.
Since the unveiling of the rule, it has been a tug of war between the security personnel who are called “Baba Blue” and students. As soon as it is 10pm, the security men, who dress in blue uniform, are dispatched around the area to chase students and visitors away.
But some students feel the management’s action is misguided, saying people that regularly visit the area are adult. Others expressed support for the move.
Aliyu Abdulsamad, a student of Faculty of Sciences, said Morocco provided the students an avenue to interact, wondering why the area was being portrayed in bad light. “The management should understand the fact that we are mature people and as such, we need the freedom to interact as undergraduates,” he said.
Abiodun Adewunmi of the same faculty describes Morocco as a free land for students to meet and discuss after academic hours. She said: “I think from whatever angle you choose to look at it, Morocco is a normal place where students need to interact as human and there should not be a restriction. If the management feels something bad is happening in the area at night, it should do something logical rather than sending the security men to molest students.”
Habeeb Zubair, a final year student, said such a place is found in all campuses, wondering why Morocco is brewing a controversy on the campus. “Morocco exists in virtually in all tertiary institutions but with different names. The management needs to be more open in dealing with the issue because it is not all the students that visit the area that engage in bad thing,” he posited.
However, Sanni Bako Mafara, a student of the Faculty of Education and Extension Services, supported the move by the management to stop meeting of students beyond 10pm around Morocco. He said: “I think the authorities got it right to restrict movement around Morocco after 10pm. One needs to visit the place and see how female students misbehave with men at night; a lot of shameful acts are committed in the name of freedom.”
Daniel Phillips, a student of Pharmaceutical Sciences, said: “I support the management’s resolve to ban movement around Morocco after 10pm. It is true that university students are adult but I believe absolute freedom corrupts. But the security men should be trained on how to handle offenders.”
