By Abubakar Imam
The Estate Officer of the University of Ilorin, Dr Bolakale Sahid Baba, has appealed to staff members occupying the institution’s Staff Quarters to ensure that vegetation around their residences are always brought under control.
Dr Baba, who is also a Deputy Director at the Works Department, gave this advice last Tuesday (April 29, 2025) while speaking with UNILORIN Bulletin in his office.
He explained that the advice became imperative following the commencement of the raining season.
Dr Baba, a Fellow of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), said that residents of the University Quarters should cultivate the habit of ensuring that grasses around them are constantly weeded to discourage reptile attacks, saying that uncontrolled vegetation usually encourages infestation of snakes and other dangerous reptiles that can easily cause havoc to human health and even lead to death.
He also said that the control of vegetation around their residences would also prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, which causes malaria fever and other diseases.
Dr Baba also advised the residents to ensure that branches of trees around them that have the tendency of being blown off by winds are also cut off before they fall on their roofs.
According to him, if such branches fall uncontrollably they could damage the roofs and even cause severe bodily damages to human beings.
He also said that the control of vegetation would also discourage people with criminal tendencies from hiding in them, pointing out that a clean and clear environment discourages criminalities.
Dr Baba further advised the residents to report leakages in their roofs and other similar observations in their residences to his office for immediate attention as he said that such weaknesses usually deepen as the raining season intensifies.
The Deputy Director thanked the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, for prioritising the welfare of staff, particularly those who occupy University houses.
He particularly thanked the Vice Chancellor for ensuring the rehabilitation of the road in the GRA Residential Quarters as he called for the extension of the rehabilitation to the network of roads in the Senior Staff Quarters on the Main Campus.
