The Lagos State University (LASU) and the Kwara State University (KWASU) have introduced new dress codes. They have outlawed the use of lewd clothes and related materials. Some students applaud the move; others are not comfortable with it. But the institutions are defending their actions, warning that errant students will be sanctioned, report Kofoworola Belo-Osagie, Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin, Adegunle Olugbamila, Oluwatoyin Adeleye and Everistus onwuzurike
The Lagos State University (LASU) and the Kwara State University (KWASU) have outlawed indecent dressing on their campuses. Under the new dress code regime in KWASU, girls are not to wear sleeveless or blouses with deep cleavages, mini-skirts and transparent clothes; the boys cannot wear shorts, dungarees, earrings and afro hair style. They can also not sag their trousers or plait their hair. Both sexes cannot wear tattered (or flowery) jeans, heavy jewelry, ankle chain or slippers; nor can they pierce their bodies (nose, mouth, tongue).
Besides, the school barred the cohabitation of male and female students on or off-campus. In the past, both sexes had separate hostels on campus. Some of those living off-campus co-habited.
A student (who does not want to be named) described the measure as an infringement on students’ freedom, right to associate and interact without hindrance.
At the Lagos State University (LASU), banners listing the 19 prohibited dressings are displayed at strategic points on the campus.
Some of the rules are similar to KWASU’s. in addition, students are barred from using clothes with obscene inscriptions, fez caps or any other face covering, wearing ties loosely (for boys), rolling up sleeves, and wearing artificial hair beyond shoulder length, among others.
While some students of both institutions like the new dress codes, others fault the rules for “infringing on our human rights”. Those on the dissenting side are more in LASU than KWASU, where the students generally think the dress code is good.
One dissenter at KWASU thinks the rule barring co-habiting is harsher than the one against indecent dressing.
The student, who did not wish to be named, said: “Universities worldwide are supposed to be citadels of learning (where students enjoy) universality of freedom, though that freedom is not licensed. It is also assumed that anyone admitted into the university is matured, both in character and mind. These latest restrictions on cohabitation are a serious affront to our rights.”
On the dress code, another student, Henry Abdul, said it would promote good behaviour.
“It will make us responsible. Hitherto, the way some female students dressed and went about on campus was far from decent. With the new dress code, I think some normalcy will be in place. The dress code should not be strange to any of the students that are morally and spiritually brought up.,” he said.
For Zainab Masud, a 200-level student, the code is ideal for a school like KWASU, which is domiciled in a rural setting and a pre-dominantly Muslim community.
“Coming from a Muslim family and being a Muslim, I am cool with the newly-introduced dress code. When you look at reasons for the introduction of the new dress code, one will understand the kind of environment one is operating and what is expected of one.
“This is Kwara State and not Lagos or Rivers, where you see students dressing like they are in American movies. Kwara is mostly an Islamic state. I think they are just trying to discourage provocative dressing which is already becoming rampant among some students,” she said.
Femi Jimoh noted that only those who disobey the dress code have reasons to worry.
“We are complying now and those that are yet to find it easy to comply with are being identified every time for punishment,” he said.
At LASU, harassment of students that do not comply with the dress codes starts from the gate. The eagle-eyed security officials either frisk suspicious students or prevent anybody who falls foul of the dress code from entering the campus. Sometimes, detained students are grouped together by the main gate and questioned before eventually being released.
Shola Sobanjo (not real name), a 200-Level English student, has been delayed by the security before and almost missed her class.
She said: “It was in the morning on Monday. My friend and I were about entering (the main gate) when security people said she could not enter because she was putting on a pair of slippers. We then pleaded that it was a flat leather slippers and not the usual bathroom slippers. One of the security men even touched it to confirm it was made of leather yet they could not yield. By the time they eventually allowed us, it was halfway into the morning lecture.”
Another student (names withheld) claimed that the security officials now use the measure to extort money from defaulters.
“Harassment has now become a daily thing. I can tell you that security officials now use the opportunity to extort money from students before they let them in. Even things that do not amount to indecent dressing, they will claim it is, just to get a tip from defaulters before allowing them in,” he said.
Many of the students do not like the new code, arguing that as adults, they should be able to do what they like. They also said an institution in Lagos ought to be more liberal.
Ibukun Fashuanmi said of the code: “(It is) an inconsiderable restriction of the expression of the students’ fundamental human rights. Our freedom to express ourselves in fashionable yet self identifying style has been robbed from us. We are students for God sake; and need to enjoy the freedom the university setting presents in its totality without an iota of fear. Most of the students are above 18 hence know what the ideals of the society really are.”
Elizabeth Danilola thinks such code should not exist in a public school.
“I think it is absurd. Those kinds of laws will make ground in private schools not a public school. This is not the time for them to be making obnoxious laws. It can never work. How do they expect us to change our dress code now when we didn’t start like this?” she asked.
LASU students also believe that the enforcement of the code may not last and have criticised the selective implementation of the code.
A student who identified himself as Segun, and is studying Law, said some students dress indecently and are not punished.
“As far as I am concerned, the management is just being hypocritical. Every day, they (management) keep mouthing this dressing code; you see the dress code flying all over the place; yet you see students with indecent dressing on campus and wonder how they escaped from security officials. The truth is that some students come into the campus with vehicles but nobody cares to check what they are wearing,” he said.
However, one student, Kayode, thinks the code is for a good cause.
“Frankly speaking, I support the school’s decision on the new dress code. I feel their aim is just to cut excessive dressing among students. What the management wants to achieve is to ensure that students dress moderately and responsibly to school, thereby preparing them for the labour market. Some students just dress any how or over- dress as the case may be,” he said.
On the dress code in KWASU, Vice Chancellor, Prof Abdulrasheed Na’Allah, said rules and regulations are not negotiable.
He said: “There is a freedom in choosing where you go for education. Nobody is compelled to come to KWASU. Different factors are considered in choosing a particular university. Let the world know that KWASU has made a decision on the kinds of strategies it wants to operate. It is a choice the university has made.”
Na’Allah said students have been cooperative on the new rules, describing them as “some of the extraordinarily well behaved students you see anywhere.”
Regarding the law that outlaws co-habiting of male and female students off-campus, the vice chancellor said it was introduced to check rape, which had become a problem for the university.
He said: “Recently we recorded very high cases of rape, which disturbed the university. You are aware that we have male and female students off campus. Here on campus no hall has male and female students domiciled together.
“That is why we decided to enforce the strategy of keeping both off and on-campus female and male students in different dormitories. We are now involved in setting guidelines and encouraging developers to meet our guidelines. We are grateful since we started that the rape cases have fallen.
Prof Na’Allah said the university was inspired by the example of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), which is running a stable system.
“Because of the crisis of cultism, it is really important for a university like our own to look at the examples of other universities around Nigeria. How are they addressing some of these issues? University of Ilorin is close to us. UNILORIN is doing some exceptional things that are helping to enforce some of these regulations. You discover that some academic disciplines even adopt some very good dress codes.
“These are the kinds of reasons that encourage us to emphasis on students’ decent dressing. It is the way you present yourselves that people see you and there is nothing wrong in an academic environment, to encourage people to dress in an acceptable manner in the community.
“When you get back to your home you can dress the way you like but not in the university. It is good you have an opportunity to interact with one another but let the university have the trust that we are dealing with somebody who is disciplined, who has good character and is able to adapt to certain regulations.”
Na’Allah also said that given the location of the university, it must respect the culture of the host community.
“Again, we are in a rural area. We have come to live with the community. It will not be fair to say ‘to hell with these people’ because we are a university. No, they have some values, they have some techniques. The way the universities in Ilorin, Lagos, Calabar and others dress may not be the way we do here, because of the sensitivity of the rural people and because we are a university for community development. Community is important to us. So we took all these into consideration in doing what we do.”
On his part, the LASU Vice Chancellor, Prof John Obafunwa, said the dress code was not new but just being enforced for the first time. He said it was not to impinge on rights but to make the students learn to dress responsibly at all times.
“Why would you want to have as a student someone that wears slippers to class? Go and look at the mode of dressing in private universities, they look decent and wear shoes,” he said.
Obafunwa added that the institution’s enforcement of proper dressing is to guard against sexual harassment.
“Sexual harassment is not an excuse by our colleagues but students can cause it through indecent dressing,” he said.
The Vice Chancellor also said the level of compliance was good, particularly among boys.
At the University of Lagos (UNILAG), arguably the headquarters of campus fashion in Nigeria, there is no formal dress code. Notwithstanding, there are places on campus where some kinds of dressing are not allowed.
The Deputy Dean of Student Affairs 2, Dr Karo Ogbinaka, said students are not allowed to wear informal clothes that expose their body.
“There is no specific dress code. The rules that are not allowed include: sagging for boys, barring of chest, etc. For girls, exposure of sensitive parts, short clothes, spaghetti tops, hot pants. These are purely informal wears that are not expected of people we are training for leadership,” he said.
Ogbinaka also said any level of management can insist on proper dressing.
“Some boys who have problems would come here to complain and just wear bathroom slippers thinking, ‘it is just that office across there.’ But we tell them that no; the office may even be under your hall, but you must be properly dressed before you can come to the student affairs office. So specific levels of management have the authority to enforce the rules from their discretion,” he said.
Also, students are not allowed to wear sleeveless or shorts into the Senate Building and the library, while some faculties, like Law, have departmental dress codes.
However, the students support the fact that there is no general dress code they are forced to abide by – though they said it is important for students to dress responsibly.
Donald Asakitikpi, a 200-Level student of Mass communication said some lecturers insist on proper dressing, which has helped him as a person.
“They enforce those rules in some departments, though. Like mass communication department, lecturers do not allow their students dress anyhow. They have sent me out of class many times for wearing pam slippers, or wearing shorts. They are also against boys leaving their hair too full or combing hair in public. The enforcement of the rules is very good because now, I dress better than I used to,” he said.
Tobi Oyewole, 400 level, Petroleum And Gas Engineering student, who does not like the rule that bars shorts from Senate Building, however advised students to dress well.
“My advice to my peers about dressing is that they should dress well – not to be wearing sweater under hot sun or sleeveless when rain is falling. I don’t believe sagging is right. The girls should also stop dressing like prostitutes. It is our duty to discipline ourselves,” he said.
Oyewole is also of the view that rules on dress code should not apply in public schools.
“It is okay for the rules to be enforced in religious private universities because that is the reason for which they were established but not in the public ones,” he said.
