Many people believe students in private universities are generally children born with silver spoons in their mouths. While this belief may be wrong, the increasing cost of living in Nigeria has also exposed many backgrounds — both affluent and enduring. Inflation in the country has impacted all aspects of life, affecting students enrolled in various tertiary institutions — and forgetting to spare private universities.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), food inflation in Nigeria as of December 2024 was a staggering 39.84% year-on-year. The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following items; Yam, Water Yam, Sweet Potatoes, etc (Potatoes, Yam & Other Tubers Class), Beer, Pinto (Tobacco Class), Guinea Corn, Maize Grains, Rice, etc (Bread and Cereals Class), and Dried Fish-Sadine, Catfish Dried, etc (Fish Class). (See here for the full report on food inflation in Nigeria.)
Private universities in Nigeria offer boarding, restricting students from leaving the school premises and receiving formal instruction. Many of these schools prohibit students from cooking on their own, instead, relying on accredited food vendors or the school kitchen.
However, the rising cost of food has placed immense financial pressure on students, many of whom depend on limited monthly allowances. Cafeteria management has also increased its services.
Alimah Ajibola, a second-year Business Administration student, shared her experience: “My parents give me ₦10,000 each month to cover everything: food, toiletries, subscriptions, and occasionally handout printing. I sometimes have to rely on friends or skip meals.”
The struggle isn’t limited to students on tight budgets. Even those with more substantial allowances find themselves grappling with the rising costs. Rauf Barakat, a 400-level Banking and Finance student with a weekly allowance of ₦20,000, shared her experience: “Due to my health, I need to eat three square meals daily. But buying food from the cafeteria is so expensive that even if I skip a meal, I still spend close to ₦4,000 daily. My allowance barely lasts the week.”
The open kitchen initiative
To alleviate these challenges, Fountain University introduced a centralised open-kitchen system in collaboration with the Parents’ Forum. This initiative allows students to prepare their meals within designated hostel kitchens, providing an alternative to expensive cafeteria meals.
Previously, cooking on campus was prohibited due to fire hazard concerns. Dr. Remi Alatise, Dean of Student Affairs, explained, “The restriction was partly because many students lacked cooking experience, increasing the risk of accidents.” However, rising food prices prompted the university to reconsider this position.
The open kitchen was launched experimentally during the second semester of the previous session. Separate kitchen facilities for male and female students were established, and agro-allied farms were invited to set up stalls offering fresh produce, kitchen essentials, and affordable gas cylinders.
“In addition to the kitchen facility, the university has also provided space for agro-allied farms to rent shops, offering students easy access to foodstuffs at affordable prices. This stall not only sells fresh produce but also offers kitchen essentials, including gas cylinders and the service of refilling them,” he added.
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This provision has proven to be an invaluable resource for students, reducing the need to travel far to source their cooking supplies.
Challenges, opportunities of individual cooking
Despite the widespread acceptance of the open-kitchen system among students, individual cooking has proven to be just as burdensome as purchasing meals from cafeterias. Rising prices of food items, cooking gas, and other essentials have pushed many students into financial difficulties.
Barakat, a student, shared her experience of cooking individually. “I bought a filled gas cylinder for ₦28,850, chicken for ₦2,400 per ½ kilogram, and other ingredients like pepper and seasoning.
“On average, I spent ₦3,000 per meal. Often, I had to reheat food to avoid wastage, which limited the variety in my meals,” she explained.
Faced with these challenges, students have sought innovative solutions to reduce expenses while maintaining access to quality meals.
Pooling resources for group cooking has emerged as a popular and cost-effective alternative. This approach allows students to share the costs of ingredients and cooking gas, resulting in significant savings and improved meal quality.
For instance, collective cooking has reduced individual meal costs by nearly 50%, and in some cases, by more than 75%. A meal costing ₦2,400 per person in the cafeteria could cost as little as ₦600 when prepared collaboratively.
Students in cooking groups report increased meal variety and better nutritional balance. By pooling resources, they can afford higher-quality ingredients, enhancing the overall dining experience.
Alimah, a 400-level student, explained how her former roommate introduced her to collaborative cooking. “Since I started cooking with them, I’ve been able to save costs, and sometimes my roommate pays on my behalf,” she shared.
Tiamiyu Fathia, a 500-level Law student, detailed her system of cooking with seven friends. “We share responsibilities—one person gets ingredients, two cook, and the rest handle the cleanup. For example, we contributed ₦600 each for Saturday’s meals, which included akara in the morning and rice with vegetables in the evening. It’s impossible to get such value from the cafeteria for ₦600,” she said.
To ease the process, the group pooled resources to acquire an additional gas cylinder and rented a cabinet, simplifying cooking logistics.
Learning opportunities, cost-sharing
Abdul-Wahab Faridah, a 200-level Business Administration student, emphasised the dual benefits of saving costs and learning new recipes. “Refilling a gas cylinder for ₦4,450 is expensive alone, but with four contributors, it’s just ₦1,115 each,” she said.
Tijani Aishat, a 300-level Nursing student, emphasised the efficiency of planning. “We decide on ingredients together, estimate costs, and split the expenses. This system has helped us save money while enjoying satisfying meals,” she noted.
Male students have also adopted the concept. Oladejo Abdulbasit, a 400-level Law student, explained, “Cooking as a group reduces stress and costs. We contribute funds weekly to restock items, making expense management easier.” He rated the cost-saving benefits at 5 out of 10.
Saniola Abubakar added that his group operates flexibly. “Sometimes, one person provides the foodstuffs, while others handle preparation. It’s a practical arrangement that makes cooking easier for everyone,” he explained.
Nutritional, logistical benefits
The open kitchen initiative, introduced to ease the financial burden of cafeteria meals for students, is showing significant promise despite logistical and maintenance challenges.
A Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry, Prof. Samiat Ogunbode, a nutrition expert commended the initiative for its potential to improve students’ dietary habits. Speaking on the health benefits, she noted that students now have greater control over their meals, enabling them to make healthier choices.
The expert stressed that cooking together will help students reduce their reliance on unhealthy ingredients like monosodium glutamate (MSG) and encourage them to include natural, immune-boosting foods in their meals. This approach, according to her empowers students to take control of their diets and make healthier choices.
While the initiative has been largely successful, challenges persist. Coordinating contributions and preferences among diverse groups of students sometimes lead to conflicts. Students come from diverse backgrounds with varying tastes, cooking methods, and food restrictions. Balancing these preferences can be a challenge, as some members may feel dissatisfied with the meals prepared or the ingredients used.
Another limitation stems from cleaning and maintaining the shared kitchen space. Tijani Aishat, a 300-level Nursing student, expressed that cleaning the kitchen is particularly exhausting. This responsibility is shared among group members, but the workload can be burdensome, especially after preparing meals. Some of the students evade cleaning with the excuse that they did not use the kitchen when it’s their turn, putting the whole burden on their group members.
“In a month, each cabinet is shared to a particular day of the month to wash the kitchen. A cabinet consists of eight users, therefore, eight girls have to wash the whole kitchen. However, instead of eight girls, some girls will evade the duty by not using the kitchen on the day it is their cabinet turn to clean the kitchen.
The facility provided by the university management could only contain 60 students at a go, whereas, over 150 students registered for the facility. The Dean of Students, Dr. Alatise stated that the management is looking to expand the facility whereby each hostel will have its own kitchen to allow easy usage.
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