“Shot-putting” and Other Dirty Secrets: Nigerian Students’ Everyday Struggles

Abstract

ABSTRACT Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria is often named as the most beautiful university in Africa. The university was established in 1961, during the early days of Nigerian independence and during a time of great optimism when the newly established universities were seen as central to the project of a modern, independent country. Yet today, this same institution has overcrowded accommodation and decaying classrooms, and the university does not provide students with the facilities they need for dignified life on campus. This article historicises this decline and argues that the absence of toilet facilities on Nigerian university campuses makes concrete the daily struggles of students trying to study and learn in very harsh conditions. Through analyses of two case studies, the article documents some of the inventive everyday practices in which students engage in the absence of adequate provision.