BEHIND THE GOOD MEALS: THE HYGIENE CRISES AT ECO MARKET

Aluta markets are known to be peculiar to tertiary institutions. The reason for this peculiarity isn’t far-fetched, other than the fact that students depend greatly on this markets to survive— especially if you’re the type that doesn’t love cooking, or you had to leave your hostel very early in the morning without preparing your stomach for the rigorous day ahead, or you had to wait behind for evening lectures and your stomach was already staging a protest about not being catered for or… okay, I think we’ve had enough of the ors.

Whichever the case, Aluta markets have been a constant presence, serving students from generation to generation without ever showing signs of weariness. They spring to life during semesters, and go into temporary slumber when the school goes on break— only to come alive again when students return. Even a loyal wife can’t outdo these markets in consistency.

OH! OUR ECO MARKET

At Lagos State University (LASU), the Eco Market is the closest thing we have to an Aluta market. No one really knows how the name actually came to be, although there are speculations of it being derived from the Department of Economics.

Regardless of the origin of its nomenclature, you just matriculate into the school and go with the flow of calling the largest market in the school “Eco Market.” Situated close to the Faculty of Arts, you’ll know you’ve officially arrived at the Eco Market when you see a group of men calling out to you to “come, snap, and, get your passport all in one minute!.”

Our beloved Eco market has a string of pros attached to it— they make up its own little resumé. The Eco market is by far the most student friendly market on campus. You can even call it the Students’ Arcade of the not-so-financially-buoyant students, if you like. Even the “ballers” aren’t left out of the goodness dispensed by the market.

The prices of commodities sold at the Eco Market are far lower compared to those of other markets scattered around the campus.

Be you a poor, middle-class or rich student, there is always a place at the Eco market that’ll suit your pocket. Perhaps this is the main reason why students hold this market dear to their hearts. Long live Eco Market the Merciful!

Another reason why this market isn’t getting unloved anytime soon, is because of the Buka brands that have made a name for themselves on the campus. Names like Iya Khalid, famous for her mind-blowing bread and beans, and Iya Costain, known for her home-away-from-home Eba with Efo-riro, are forever on the lips of students. Surely, even the nearby bank workers can testify to the goodness of the food in Eco Market.

Printing services are also very affordable at the Eco market, and the word on the streets of LASU is that it offers the cheapest printing services in “this school situated at Iyana-Iba.” A student’s completion of an assignment or project depends strongly on getting a good printing service and believe us when we say Eco Market has got you covered on this.

AND SADLY…

Every good story, they say, has its imperfections. Or not. Anyway, we shall find out about this soon enough. Let’s delve into this quickly: everything about the Eco market seems well patterned out, because students are forever singing its praises to the skies. But alas, certain issues threaten to tarnish its image— most notably, concerns about hygienic and environmental management.

A not-so-good feature of the market is the school’s canal, which runs directly behind it. It’ll be gainsaying to claim that this canal does not emit an offensive odour whenever it feels the urge to, particularly if there is no rainfall to sweep away the accumulated food wastes emptied into it by restaurants located in the market.

Many of the food vendors in the market do their cooking close to this canal, and hygiene-wise, that’s a no-no. Harmful bacterias can contaminate the food which can subsequently lead to food poisoning. Getting sick is one of the things a student won’t wish upon himself or herself.

Also, the open area at the centre of the market also tells its own story— a patch of land home to weeds and grasses which have been living rent-free there since God knows when. This certainly does not give the market its best look but rather shrouds its appearance.

It has, over the years, been the duty of the university management to clear the weed now and again, but, if peradventure, a situation arises whereby the university management stalls in getting rid of them, vendors in the market should please take it upon themselves to accomplish this rather simple task for the public good and the students populace.

And not to forget the complaints made by a tangible number of students on how pastries sold by vendors are not well made on multiple occasions. It’s either there’s still raw flour on the outer layer of the pastries or they’re fighting a losing battle with charcoal— in other words, burnt beyond recognition! Analysis has shown that this anomaly is peculiar to certain snacks vendors in the market.

While it is understandable that vendors are trying to meet up with high demand, they should also put the health of consumers into consideration.

Another pressing issue is the use of water from uncovered wells in the market, most especially when there’s an indefinite power outage on campus. A rather disturbing thing about these wells is that floodwater from heavy rainfall most often than not seeps into them, further polluting the water.

For all we know, the well water might be— or will most definitely become— contaminated and this might lead to an outbreak of cholera. Surely, we do NOT want that in Lagos State University.

Having highlighted a few out of the pressing unhygienic challenges that have plagued Eco market over the years, LASU Conscience is calling on relevant authorities to pay attention to the biggest market on campus.

The weeds, and canals should be taken care of adequately to prevent an outbreak of disease on campus. Many students have laid several complaints about the unhygienic practices in the market so far, and some have even gone as far as refusing to patronize some particular shops in the market.

There should be stricter measures put in place to ensure that this market is not a gory sight to behold, because apart from the students who are the main customers, lecturers, and even individuals from outside the campus ensure to patronize the shops in the market whenever they have something to do on campus.

For those selling pastries, there should be a proper check by the students’ union and the school management-it could be weekly or every fortnight, in order to ensure that we successfully avoid a case of food poisoning in our “greatest gba gba.”

Conclusively, but for the little issues that need to be addressed urgently, Eco Market is a primus inter pares (first among equals) among students’ markets in LASU.

It stands as a testament to students survival and resilience. With a few upgrades in sanitation and food quality management, it has the potential of being a model student market across tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Until then, we keep patronizing, keep loving and keep promoting the forever-present Eco Market.