Students in Nigerian universities have stories to tell, but hardly anyone to tell them to. For our new weekly series, Aluta and Chill, we are putting the spotlight on these students and their various campus experiences.

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The subjects of this week’s Aluta and Chill are 5 students from different Nigerian universities. They talk about managing their finances at school, a memorable time a careless financial decision made them broke, and the lessons they learned from the experience.

Ekubiatobong, Female, University of Uyo

My allowance every month was ₦25000, and it was usually enough for me. However, I didn’t think to save at all because I didn’t see a need to. This would come back to bite me.

There was a month when I spent more than usual on my school and living expenses and finished my allowance. When I realised how dire the situation was, I tried to ration what was left, but it was too late. Things took an unfavourable turn when I was down to ₦100, and my next allowance was a week away. 

I couldn’t call my dad, so I did the next best thing and called my sister. She told me that she would get back to me, but I knew what that meant. She wasn’t going to bail me out. 

I managed to go to class the next morning, skipping breakfast because I couldn’t afford it. During the hours I spent in class, I was in low spirits, and everything I saw irritated me. I hadn’t had a meal when I left the campus in the evening. When I got home, an unusual thing happened. A friend came to visit me and brought food. It couldn’t have come at a better time. 

The night was sorted, but I knew I had no plans for the following day. I was flat-out broke. It turned out that luck was on my side because my sister came through and sent ₦5000 to me. 

A lot of things have changed since that time. I’m more independent now and more responsible with my finances. Also, I have a partner, and I always feel the need to have something saved up because either of us could need it at any time. 

Beatrice*, Female, Afe Babalola University

I started a clothing line business when I got into school and poured everything I could save from the monthly allowance I got from my parents into it, and it picked up nicely. It was something I always fell back on because I hated asking my parents for money all the time. 

Sometime last year, I ran out of my allowance earlier than usual, but I was convinced that I wasn’t in trouble. I thought the business would hold me until my next allowance came. Unfortunately, I ran into a problem with delivery. Most of the orders I got were from people outside the school. However, it was impossible to get the product to them because of my school security system. 

I thought I would make some sales at school, but that didn’t happen. All my plans were tied to making money from the business, and when things didn’t go to plan, I became short on money. I remember having ₦2000 left and trying to make it last for a week. That was when it hit me that I was broke. 

It killed me to do it, but I knew I had to let my parents know what was going on. Even though they weren’t in the country at the time, they sent something to me. But It took three days before I got the money. Those three days were hell for me. It was so bad that I couldn’t afford to buy food anymore — I lived on cereals. 

By the time I eventually got the money, I had learned an important lesson — I realised that it didn’t make sense to plan around money I hadn’t gotten. Now, I’m at a good point with my finances. I’m saving more and the business is doing better. So, maybe I needed to have that experience.

Mtchy, Male, University of Calabar

My dad typically sends me money every week. But one week, he made a mistake and transferred the week’s allowance twice. When he realised what had happened, he instructed me to keep the extra money and use it to sort myself out the following week. The smart thing to do was to save and work with my weekly budget, but the money seemed like a huge amount to me. I couldn’t help myself, and I squandered the bulk of it on food. 

I sobered up quickly when I came to terms with what I had done, and what it meant for me. However, it was too late. I resorted to walking to school every day for an entire week. In the middle of this, I got a cut on one of my feet. The pain was unbearable, but it was either I sucked it up or skipped classes since I couldn’t afford to take a cab to my lectures.

Sometimes, a friend helped with food, but that was it. All through the period, I was thinking about the decision making that got me there. Man, I lost a lot of weight before the ordeal was over. I survived it, though. After that, I took my budgets more seriously. I cannot go through that again.

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Yemisi, Female, University of Lagos

At the end of every session, every hostel at my school organises pageants as part of the Hall Week celebrations. I was in my first year, and I had no plans to participate until my roommate brought it up. She gassed me up so much that I was pretty convinced that I would win. 

I told mum about it, but she was against the idea. She didn’t think the money I was going to spend was worth it. It should have ended there, but I decided to go ahead, even though I knew that I would have to finance it myself.

I decided to use my weekly allowance to sponsor my participation. Every week they sent money to me from home, I used most of it to prepare for the pageant. The plan was that I would win the grand prize and recover everything I’d spent. 

Finally, the pageant’s grand finale took place, but did I win? Nope! All my money went down the drain. I needed to figure out a way to survive the week. There was no way I could call home because my mum told me not to go ahead. I couldn’t ask my friends for help either. For the entire period, I lived off my bunkmate. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but I understood that a couple of bad decisions got me there. I think I needed to learn that lesson.

Chelsea, Female, University of Nigeria

In my second year, I bought a couple of things I didn’t need from my pocket money and didn’t leave enough for emergencies. Unluckily for me, I had to spend some more money on faculty and department dues. I knew I was broke when I had only ₦2000 left in my account. To make things worse, my bank debited me for some charge before I could make a withdrawal.

I didn’t have up to the amount I wanted to withdraw anymore. I didn’t have a lot of options, so I toss my ego aside and asked one of my friends to transfer some money into my account. But that wasn’t the end. 

I returned to my room and dropped the cash on my bed before I went out for a bit. When I got back, I saw only one ₦1000 note on my bed. I looked everywhere for the other note, but I couldn’t find it. My frustration gave in to resignation, and I had a big “If I perish, I perish” moment.

I went out to blow the ₦1000 on food. I went to a restaurant and ordered a nice plate of food. But something extraordinary happened before I finished eating, I got an alert of ₦5000. It was a dividend from an investment put some money into. It was enough to keep me together for some time. I realised that the situation happened because I got my priorities wrong. From that moment, I became deliberate about spending money on my needs rather than my wants.

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Can’t get enough Aluta and Chill? Check back every Thursday at 9 AM for a new episode. Find other stories in the series here.

We spend so much time thinking about how to make lecturers like us that we forget that we have to put in some work to make this happen. Well, this post will give you a good idea of where to start.

1. When they enter the lecture hall, stand up, raise your hands up and hail them 

They will feel important and seen. More importantly, they will see you. 

2. In the middle of a lecture, burst into a song and force them to dance 

Don’t think they will send you out because they won’t. You will make them feel young again.

3. When you’re writing their exam, take some time out to write them a poem

They will feel desired and loved.

4. Sometimes, mobilise other students and get the class rep to tell the lecturer to take the day off

They are somebody’s child too. They need to rest.

5. Grade your assignments yourself before you turn them in 

You’ve made their job easier, and they will appreciate your thoughtfulness.

6. Deflate their car tyres and offer to walk them home

They will enjoy the exercise and your company.

That’s it. Do let us know how it goes. Cheers!

President Muhammadu Buhari has suspended the Pro-chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Wale Babalakin, and the vice-chancellor, Professor Oluwatoyin Ogundipe.

Recall that the Babalakin-led Governing Council removed Professor Ogundipe from his role as vice-chancellor of the university on Wednesday, August 12, 2020.

However, Professor Ogundipe kicked against his removal and released a statement, stating that he remained the VC. 

The Governing Council, on their part, appointed Professor Theophilus Soyombo as acting VC, a decision which the UNILAG chapter of Academic Staff Union of University rejected. 

In a new twist to the developing situation, President Buhari has stepped in to set up a special visitation panel to look into the circumstances that led to Ogundipe’s removal as VC. He has also asked the pro-chancellor and vice-chancellor to step aside from their official duties until the panel concludes its investigation.

Spokesman of the Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, revealed this on Friday, August 21, 2020.

The president expects the panel to complete their investigation and submit a report within two weeks. The panel will look into the events that culminated into the removal of Ogundipe as VC and find out if it followed due process, among other things.

According to information retrieved from various news sources, the panel is chaired by Tukur Sa’ad, former Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna. Its members include Victor Onuoha, Ikenna Oyindo, Ekanem Braide, Adamu Usman, and Jimoh Bankole.

The president also instructed the Senate to convene and nominate an acting VC from its members, who will be confirmed by the governing council. This confirms the removal of Professor Soyombo as acting VC. 

Whoever is appointed as the new acting VC will manage the affairs of the university until the government reaches a resolution.

Everyone pretty much starts their time at uni with big plans. But as time goes on, the enthusiasm starts to nose-dive. For a lot of students, this reaches an all-time low — where they couldn’t care less about anything that goes on. And these people, ladies and gentlemen, are the inspiration behind this post.

1. You, when a lecturer doesn’t take attendance in two consecutive classes

So, what am I doing here?

2. When you tell the lecturer you understand something, even though you clearly do not

What will be will be.

3. When your lecturer switches your seat in every class because you are the resident noisemaker 

I have friends everywhere, so jokes on you

4. When a classmate tells you they’ve finished writing their paper and the deadline is not even close

Is everything all right at home? I feel sad for you sha

5. When you enter an exam hall, you’re only prepared enough to wing it 

Let’s get this over with.

6. When you finish a 3-hour exam in 45 minutes because, well, it is what it is 

Vibes is temporary, Insha Allah is forever 

7. You forget about  every exam you write until it’s time to check the result 

Oh, that’s right. I wrote this exam last semester

8. More than once, you’ve toyed with the idea of using your tuition for something else

I mean, who am I kidding?

Students in Nigerian universities have stories to tell, but hardly anyone to tell them to. For our new weekly series, Aluta and Chill, we are putting the spotlight on these students and their various campus experiences.

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We don’t talk about it enough but affordable accommodation or the lack of it is a problem students face in tertiary institutions across the country. To be fair, a lot of universities have hostels managed by the management, but they are hardly enough to accommodate a reasonable percentage of students studying there.  Some students have to find accommodation outside the university grounds and often more than not, they  pay through their nose for it.

These are some of the accommodation problems Nigerian students face, but as you’ll  find out from the students I talked to for this story, there’s more they worry about. Why don’t you dive in and read?

Aramide, Lagos State University — I ran into a group of cultists

There are no school-run hostels on campus and the few private ones available are way out of budget. A lot of students are forced to find alternatives outside the school campus, even though most of them are not entirely safe – I’m one of such students.

In my first year, a friend and I went to visit another female friend who lived in PPL, an area known for cheap hostels and its poor security system. She wasn’t home, so we turned back to return to our apartment.

We were still fresh and didn’t know that it was a sin to greet or hail people we didn’t know. We flouted the rule, loudly greeting people as we went on our way. Before we got out of the area, a group of guys accosted us and demanded to know who we were. They accused us of wearing their colours too— another thing we didn’t know. 

I immediately made them out as cultists and kept quiet. My friend, on the other hand, was naive and thought we could talk our way out of the situation. His confidence riled the guys up and they pulled a gun on us. I’d never seen one at such close distance, and for a moment, I thought that was it. I’m not sure if I was able to hide my fears because sweat was trickling down my face.

My friend’s tone changed, and together, we started pleading for our lives. They asked us to bring out our valuables. I left my phone at home, but my friend had his phone and a can of perfume he’d just bought on him. They didn’t take the phone because it was old, but they took the perfume from him. They sprayed some of it on us in mockery. After they’d had their fun, they instructed us to run like our lives depended on it, and boy did we!

Kalu Deborah, University of Nigeria, Nsukka — I was forced to live with a friend 

Hostels in my university are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The sooner you pay your school fees, the higher your chances of getting a room. You’d think it’s an easy process, but the school has a way of making it extremely difficult. The application portal could crash, they could assign the same corner to different people, or they could assign people to non-existent corners.

In my 4th year, it didn’t look like I was going to get a space in the hostel. When a friend I had known since I came to write Post-UTME told me that she paid someone to ensure that she got a room, I asked if I could pay half of the money so we could stay  together. She agreed to this and that was supposed to be all. 

I understood the risk here. There was a possibility that she’d ask me to move out before the session ended and I decided to be proactive. I drew up an agreement on paper and asked her to sign it, but she refused. That was when I knew something was wrong. 

I was out of school on a weekend when I got a text message from her. She claimed that one of her cousins who was studying nursing had asked to stay with her and she couldn’t refuse. That was obviously a lie because first year nursing students  stay on a different campus. She was clear with her demands, though — she wanted me to move out.

I was livid, but there was nothing I could do about it. I went back to school and went to her room to remove my stuff. In the middle of doing that, she walked in and started running her mouth about how assertive I was by asking her to sign an agreement. The more she talked, the more my anger grew. To be honest, I was very close to physically assaulting her. Thankfully, another friend allowed me to stay in her room temporarily. Not long after,  ASUU strike happened, which gave me time to find an alternative solution. Another friend took me in and I stayed in her room until the session ended.

John*,  Madonna University — I wrote an exam under stressful circumstances

For a private university, the state of student hostels in my school is very poor. There’s always something to deal with, especially power and water issues.

When I was in 200 level, I had to write a couple of professional exams that would determine if I’d move to the next year. On the second day the exams started, word got to us that the school generator had developed a fault. The boys hostel was totally reliant on generator sets, which ran from 6 PM to 6 AM every day. We had found a way to work with that, but we weren’t going to get any electricity that night. 

Everyone was confused and at a loss for what to do. We had important exams to write the following day, and there was no way we could study. The frustration everyone felt was palpable.

There was a church 30 minutes away, and they always had light . Normally, this wasn’t a distance anyone was comfortable walking, but the stakes were high. We moved to the church in droves and turned it into a makeshift study centre —  that was a stressful night.

I was an emotional wreck when I wrote the exam the following day. Fortunately, it wasn’t a disaster. I did pass the exam, but maybe I would have done better if the living situation was better.

Precious, University of Ilorin — I went through hell before I found a hostel

My school admits more students than the hostel facilities can accommodate. They try to give preference to first-year students, but the spaces are simply not enough to accommodate the  population. 

In my first year, I resumed late to school. The  school hostels were already at full capacity and most of the hostels outside the campus [ in the student-populated areas] were also occupied. For some time, I stayed with a family friend who lived in the town but I didn’t like it there. For starters, it was some distance from the university, so it made sense that I really wanted to leave.

Every Saturday, I’d leave the house to walk the length of the student areas, hoping to find a house that had a room that wasn’t occupied. This took hours of my time every weekend, yet most of the hostels I saw were crawling with students . It was a dark period.

I met someone who offered me a good deal, but when I saw the building, I knew that I couldn’t live there. The building was practically uncompleted. Anyway, I continued my search. Finally, I got a hostel but here was the thing — the hostel was one big room with bunk beds. There were about 21 occupants, and everyone shared the same room and one bathroom. I was desperate to find something, so I took it. It wasn’t fun living there at all. I was the youngest of the lot and the guys made me do most of the work. It was like I was living in a secondary school hostel with bullies for seniors. 

Paul, Abia State University — I have to live with a roommate

I stayed in the school hostel in my first year at school but it was a struggle to get used to it. I couldn’t choose my roommate. Besides, the sheer number of students allocated to each room didn’t sit well with me. The worst part of this was how unclean the hostel was. The toilets were the worst thing you would find. I couldn’t get used to the unhygienic living conditions.

When the session ended, I moved out and decided to stay off-campus. However, finding accommodation that had everything I was looking for — water, power, and close proximity to the school — was a little difficult. And when I found one that met all my requirements, I realized  that I didn’t have the budget for it. It was either I figured it out or go back to the  hostel. The alternative was to get a roommate, whom I’d split the rent with, and that’s what I did. 

For the most part, my quality of life has improved. However, I could do without a roommate. He’s not bad but his presence means that I can’t do a lot of things without considering his convenience, and this is very restrictive for me. There’s a lot of things I would like to do but cannot because of my roommate. It’s been one hell of a ride but I’ve decided to stay alone from the next session. It’s about time.

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Can’t get enough Aluta and Chill? Check back every Thursday at 9 AM for a new episode. Find other stories in the series here.