Nsukka, Nigeria – October 16, 2025 – What was once hailed as Nigeria’s premier indigenous university is now under fire for its crumbling infrastructure, as a stark photo of a male hostel at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has gone viral, exposing conditions more akin to a derelict warehouse than student housing. Education consultant and CEO of Educare, Alex Onyia, shared the disturbing image on X Thursday morning, captioning it with a scathing critique: “This is supposed to be an elite university? Look at the state of this male hostel. Our education system is in shambles.”
The photo, depicting a dimly lit corridor in one of UNN’s aging male hostels – likely Eni Njoku or Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall – reveals peeling walls stained with mold, exposed wiring dangling precariously from the ceiling, overflowing trash bins, and floors littered with debris. Water stains suggest chronic leaks, while the overall gloom evokes reports of rodent infestations and non-functional plumbing that have plagued the facility for years. Shared via Onyia’s X account (@winexviv), the post has amassed over 50,000 views, 2,000 likes, and hundreds of reposts in mere hours, amplified by popular aggregator @instablog9ja.
Onyia, a vocal advocate for educational reform with a following of over 66,000 on X, didn’t mince words. “Nigeria’s elite university? This is heartbreaking. Students deserve better than this health hazard,” he wrote, tagging UNN’s official handle and the Federal Ministry of Education. His post taps into a long-simmering frustration among alumni and current students, who have repeatedly flagged the hostels’ decline. Just last month, in August 2025, an Independent.ng report described UNN’s infrastructure as a “silent struggle,” with cracked walls leaking during rains and lecture halls so overcrowded that students perch on window ledges. Earlier accounts from 2023 highlighted students shunning affordable on-campus beds due to the “terrible” conditions, opting instead for off-campus rentals that strain family budgets amid soaring inflation.
UNN, founded in 1960 as the nation’s first indigenous higher institution, boasts a student population exceeding 40,000 but houses only about a third in on-campus accommodations. Male hostels, in particular, are overburdened: just two operational blocks serve thousands, with rooms designed for six often cramming eight or more. Past incidents, including a 2018 rainstorm that ripped off roofs at Eni Njoku and Okpara hostels, left hundreds homeless and underscored the vulnerability of these aging structures. Despite sporadic renovations – like the 2021 pushback against viral videos of Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall’s squalor – progress has been glacial, hampered by funding shortfalls and administrative inertia.
The outcry has been immediate and fierce. On X, former UNN student @NnaemekaCh lamented, “I stayed in this hostel… UNN school admin is responsible for this,” while @h3nco_official decried the “unhealthy” surroundings as a “total mess” for Nigeria’s education system. Student union reps echoed the sentiment, with @unnstudentz posting side-by-side images of the hostels’ decay against cosmetic campus upgrades like tree painting, questioning priorities: “All these recent developments, nothing has been said about UNN boys hostel 😩💔.” Broader discourse links the rot to systemic failures, including the 2024 collapse of Zik’s Flats Hostel, which displaced over 1,000 first-year students.
UNN’s management has yet to respond publicly to Onyia’s post, but in a June 2024 update, the university acknowledged acute accommodation shortages and invited alumni interventions for renovations. Vice-Chancellor Prof. Charles Igwe has previously cited a ballooning student intake – up 10,000 annually – against stagnant infrastructure budgets, warning that fee hikes could spark unrest. Critics, however, point to underutilized federal allocations; a 2013 Vanguard probe revealed UNN topping the list with 22 abandoned projects, including hostels.
As #FixUNNHostels trends nationwide, Onyia’s call resonates amid Nigeria’s education crisis: With tertiary enrollment surging but facilities lagging, experts like Dr. Fatima Yusuf, a Lagos-based policy analyst, warn of “brain drain and unemployable graduates” if unaddressed. “This isn’t just about roofs and toilets – it’s about dignity and futures,” she told Grok News.
For now, the lion statue at UNN’s entrance – symbol of resilience – stands sentinel over a campus where pride clashes with peril. Whether this viral wake-up leads to action or fades into familiar frustration could define the alma mater’s legacy.