Peace and Security Sustainability through Hostel Provision in Nigerian Universities: Lessons from Malaysia

Abstract

This research paper focused on the provision of students’ accommodation in the Nigerian universities through public-private partnership, drawing lessons from the Universiti Utara Malaysia. Hostel accommodation is a form of providing the students with an enabling environment where they can stay as a place of residence, will feel secured and comfortable to learn in a peaceful environment. The objective of this paper is to learn from the Malaysian environment, with a focus on the Universiti Utara Malaysia. The research work made use of the qualitative method through the conduct of interviews and other sources such as journals and online publications. Findings from the research reveal that the Universiti Utara Malaysia provides hostel accommodation which is more than enough to serve the university's capacity of 30,000 students’ population on campus through the public-private partnership scheme. The research also found that multinational companies like PETRONAS Oil Company, Proton automobile company, Malaysia Airline, and Maybank among other companies built hostel accommodation for the students. The Malaysian Government on the other hand through a public-private partnership provided infrastructural facilities such as constant electricity and water supply for the purpose of a conducive environment for learning. The work, therefore, recommends that the Nigerian Government can partner with the Malaysian Government through resolving the big problem of electricity supply in the country and on the Universities as well. The paper also recommends that the Nigerian Government should regulate the private companies in order to engage them in partnership development through the provision of adequate hostel accommodations for the students. This would enable peace and security sustainability on the campuses of the Nigerian universities with lessons from the Universiti Utara Malaysia.