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All the study tips out there are tailored to every day life and normal circumstances. Here are some study tips that should help make studying in the middle of a pandemic easier.
Planners
Sketch out all the things you plan on achieving today. It helps give a direction as to how to start studying and helps you remember what areas need to be covered. Also, do not forget to input resting and eating, because it is so easy to forget.
Alarms
Morning can morph into evening before you have had time to even eat breakfast due to the fact that nobody really goes anywhere. Alarms help to remind you that time exists. You attach a little note to the alarm to remind you of what you need to do.
Friends
Have a small group of friends you will study with. You do not have to sit on a video call and chat, because who has that kind of data to be honest. Just have a group of people to be held accountable to.
Set goals
Give yourself a number of chapters or book you want to achieve that day/week and work towards it. It is better to break the goals down into small bits and pieces. Instead of writing “Finish Chapter One”, try setting your goals as the process it will take to get chapter one complete. An example is “Read for two hours so that I can finish chapter one”. If you are unable to meet up with these goals, you should reevaluate your process, and also forgive yourself. Beating yourself up about it will do nothing but stress you.
Take notes
With most of the information being consumed online, you may forget to take notes. Taking notes gives you something to revise and look back on instead of scouring the web trying to find that thing again. Especially with how unreliable network service providers and NEPA can be.
Sharing screen time
Allocate certain times for personal and school work. Close all personal related tabs and leave only the school related ones open. Splitting your screen helps prevents distractions. There are a million and one cool things on the internet. It is so easy to get caught up in any of them.
Communicate your intentions
Inform the people you live with of your tasks and plans so they do not disturb you. This will help prevent unwanted breaks in the middle of your study session, like your mother suddenly remembering that she does not know how to send a voice note.
In all of these things, remember to take care of yourself. Both your physical and mental health are very important. Take breaks when you need to, and keep in touch with people that keep you sane.
Do not forget to stay safe, wash your hands and social distance. To keep in touch with the community, you can start by following us on Twitter by clicking the little blue bird
It is true that adulting starts the moment you leave home for the university, polytechnic, or any tertiary institution. But if you think about it, the school shields you from the not-very-fun-bits of adulting. That ends the second you graduate.
Let’s dive in.
1. When you’re a student: The party never stops.
When you have a job: The longing for extra hours of sleep doesn’t stop.
2.When you are a student: No one (except maybe your parents) cares if you get any work done.
When you have a job: A lot of people care about what you do and expect you to show up all the time.
3.When you are a student: You can stab classes all you want and get away with it.
When you have a job: You are in trouble if you miss a day of work for no reason.
4. When you are a student: You start important things at the last minute.
When you have a job: Deadlines are deadlines and everything has a timeline you must follow.
5. When you are a student: You complain about time, yet you manage to hang out with friends.
When you have a job: A few calls here and there to check-in on your friends, and that’s it.
6. When you’re a student: A call to your parents will likely make you richer.
When you have a job: A call to your parents will likely make you poorer (cries in black tax).
7. When you are a student: You have the time to live your best life, but you have no money to sponsor it.
When you have a job: There is no time. Or money. Just pure vibes.
8. When you’re a student: You fantasize a lot about working and earning money.
When you have a job: You fantasize a lot about retirement.
1) When you realize that you’re going to have an extra year, you will want to die.
GOD NO!
2) Your sorrow will intensify if the course(s) you failed are courses you have no chance of actually understanding.
Because you know your brain.
3) This is you watching your classmates graduate and leave you behind.
Just smile and wave.
4) You’ll eventually find other people who also have an extra year and you’ll be like:
I’m not alone! GROUP HUG!!
5) If you lived in the hostel in previous years, you will stay in town to avoid people.
I don’t know anybody there abeg.
6) This is you laying low anytime you go to school so you won’t have to explain to anyone why you’re still around.
*cue Mission Impossible theme song*
7) But every single time you step foot on campus, you will run into EVERYBODY you’ve ever known.
HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!
8) And every time this happens and you explain, they’ll be like, “Eeyah! Sorry! Take heart. All is not lost.”
I just have an extra year. I didn’t lose a loved one.
9) This is you picking easy elective courses so your GPA won’t crash.
I must not graduate with Certificate of Attendance.
10) This is you when your exams are coming and you still don’t know shit.
God why??
11) You will briefly consider paying someone to write your exams for you.
But you remember that it’s immediate expulsion if you’re caught so you remove your mind from there.
12) You’ll write the exam and commit everything to God.
ABBA FATHER! DO NOT FORSAKE ME!!
13) Then the worst part of everything will begin. Waiting for your result to come out.
High blood pressure will almost kill you.
14) This is you when your results come out and you pass.
MAMA I MADE IT! IMMA GRADUATE!!!
15) Unless your story ends differently and you fail again.
That’s a story for another day.
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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.
My favourite hack to avoid any embarrassing situation is to stick to what I’ve made out to be my business. Sometimes, it works. At other times, it doesn’t. Looking back to my time at the university, I realised that a lot of sticky situations I dealt with didn’t happen because I flouted this rule. They happened because I was on a campus where there’s not much you can avoid.
This week, I talked to students at University of Jos and asked them to talk about an event they found really embarrassing. These are their stories:
Anna — My lecturer made lewd comments about my body
In 200 level, I wore an off-shoulder gown I liked because it was comfortable to a morning lecture. In the middle of the class, the lecturer asked a question. I knew the answer, so I stood up. Before I could say anything, the lecturer gave me a look and motioned for me to stop. He asked me why I dressed like that to class.
I was thinking about the best way to deal with the situation when he said “I feel like you dressed this way to tell me your breasts are still standing.”
He said this in front of the class, and of course, everyone burst into laughter. Some turned to look at me. I didn’t know what to do or say.
I took the embarrassment the best way I could and took my seat. Fortunately, none of my classmates said anything about it after the class, or ever.
Stephanie — The security head at my faculty accused me of being a cultist
Bags are not allowed in my faculty. There is a cultism problem, and these guys hid their weapons inside their bags. But I always needed to go to class with my bag and this caused a lot of run-ins with the security guys.
On this day, I was really late for a test. I got to the faculty and the security guys stopped me because I had my bag with me. They asked me to go after they checked my school receipt.
The head of the security division saw what was happening and called me. When I got to her, she pointed at the Sativa pendant I wore around my neck and asked me if I had it on at the faculty. The next thing she called me was a cultist.
There is no record of a female cultist in the school, yet she called me one. She didn’t stop there — she started to say some really offensive things to me. It didn’t help that I brought a bag with me. That gave her leverage and she took advantage of it.
I didn’t exchange words with her but I was red with embarrassment because a small crowd had gathered to watch. It was a pendant that didn’t mean a thing.
In the end, she let me go but I missed my test. Also, the pendant was confiscated and I had to write a letter to the security division stating that I’m not a cultist.
Precious — I had to beg for ₦50 to pay for my ride
I had to be in school by 7 AM, but I got a late headstart. When I thought I was ready, I grabbed my bag and dashed out of my room. I flagged down a Keke and jumped in. Halfway through the trip, I reached into my bag to grab my purse, which had my money. It wasn’t there. I realised, with horror, that I had forgotten my purse inside my room.
It was too late to get down. The best thing to do was to ask one of the other passengers to help me. I marked the guy next to me and figured that I could ask him. We got to the main campus and the keke stopped for us to pay and be on our way. For some reason, the other passengers didn’t get off immediately. I’d hoped to ask the guy when they were gone.
Other people were scrambling to get in, and the Keke man was asking me to pay up. I managed to get the word across to the guy, although the other people heard. With the way they looked at me, it was clear that they thought I was lying. Luckily, the guy I asked was warmer — he didn’t even let me finish before he dipped into his pockets and fetched the #50 that I needed. I was embarrassed but I was also relieved that it was over, The Keke man didn’t look like he had any chill in him.
Chiamaka — An invigilator called me out in the middle of an exam
I was in the hall, writing an Accounting exam. At some point, I realised that my ledgers did not balance. In my panic, I forgot the lecturer had warned us of that possibility. Something about the tool he used.
I tapped my friend to tell her what I was dealing with. We were in a big hall and the invigilator shouldn’t have seen me, but he did. He came to me and asked for what I told my friend. I denied ever speaking to her. When I realised that he knew what he was talking about, I apologised.
Before I could finish the apology, he ripped my answer booklet out of my hands and went away with it. I looked around and saw that everyone in the examination hall had their eyes on me. And this was a course the entire faculty took.
I dashed after him to beg. He completely ignored me, and I went back to my seat. I was close to tears. The only reason I didn’t lose it completely was that I was almost done with the exam. 15 minutes later, he came back, changed my seat and returned my booklet to me.
Everything worked out. I got an A in the course. However, those 15 minutes were really embarrassing for me. There’s nothing unnerving like being called out for wrongdoing in front of a large class.
Jasmin — A hostel official shouted down at me
I’d just paid my school fees. The next thing to do was to collect the hostel form and apply for room space. I didn’t get it on the first day because the hostel officials ran out of forms. On the second day, I went earlier than usual to beat the long queues. It took these people hours before they showed up to their office.
The man in charge of the forms wouldn’t give them out to anybody. He only attended to people who had some weight behind them. Sometime in the afternoon, he stepped out of his office. I, together with two other ladies saw an opportunity here to approach him and plead with him. We did exactly that — this man didn’t take kindly to this. He asked us what we wanted and we told him, hoping to appeal to his senses.
There was a lot of ways he could have dealt with it. He could have told us off gently, but no. He shouted down at us and went on his way. I was shaken to the core and felt so small. Tears even welled up in my eyes, and I had to do a lot to hold myself together.
With everything that happened, I didn’t get the hostel form on that day. I had to come back the following day before I got it. Clearing my room was another thing, but that’s a story for another day.
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.
Are you a Nigerian Student? Are you in a relationship with a fellow Nigerian student? If your answer to these questions is “yes”, then definitely understand these struggles stated below
The roommate that does not understand privacy
You have been telling Cynthia about how bae is coming over for some private time since the beginning of the week. The day finally arrives and that is when Cynthia remembers to start cooking beans. You try giving her signs, but this is Cynthia
2. When all the course mates are monitoring spirits
One day, you decided to not sit beside bae, and they are asking you if you broke up. Ogbeni, do not let the devil use you!
3. It is worse when the lecturers are in on it too
They ask bae a question and they cannot answer? that is where you come in. Both of you cannot answer?
4. Spending money on dates
The last money in your account is meant for course material, but babe has been craving pizza and shawarma for a while now.
Course is temporary, but faaji is forever
5. Weekend classes
Why is it always during weekend gateaway time that Professor Azeez remembers he wants to set test, practical, and exam part 1?
6. Class schedules
If you and bae are not in the same department and level, seeing them might be very difficult. Some cases, both of you only run into each other shuttling classes looking like different variations of this:
7. When the semester finally ends and everyone has to go home
You are stressed because bae lives in Lagos and you in Edo state. Even if you lived in the same state, your mother will not allow you go out at night.
If you struggle or have struggled with any of these, we understand your frustration, and we are putting you in our prayers
On Wednesday, July 8, 2020, the Federal Government changed its earlier position and announced that Nigerian students will not participate in this year’s WAEC examination scheduled to start on August 4, 2020, due to fears of Coronavirus.
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, revealed this to journalists after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting.
There’s an EDUCATION UPDATE: Minister of Education has just announced that schools under control of the Federal Govt will NOT be reopening for the forthcoming WAEC Exams. Says WAEC should suspend exams, and urges State Govts to toe FG line. “This is not the right time to reopen.”
Schools across the country have been closed since March in a bid to contain the spread of the virus, and according to the minister, they will remain closed for as long as necessary. This means that final year students in secondary schools will have to wait until next year to write their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The minister added that he would prefer that students lose an academic year than risking their lives.
While the minister is cool with this, a lot of people aren’t. The House of Representatives, through the Basic Education and Services has kicked against it and urged the Federal Government to reverse this decision.
Also, a former Vice President of the country, Atiku Abubakar is clear on his position. In a Twitter thread, he disapproved of the decision to withdraw from the 2020 WAEC examination. According to him, cancelling the exams puts Nigeria at more risk.
WAEC can actually hold if they are sincere enough. Except maths and English and maybe one or two others subjects that are general, all the students wontt write their exam same day and time. Since other students won't be in school, the whole school can be used for spacing purposes
Even if the graduating students do not write their SSCE in 2020, future Nigerian politicians will still use 2020 WAEC result and contest for elections. I pledge to Nigeria my country. 😂
For a very long time, women around the world have been victims of sexual-based violence.
For the most part, the abusers get away with these crimes. But more than ever, women are coming out to tell their stories and exposing their abusers.
And this may be yielding some results.
In 2019, the Nigerian Senate re-introduced an anti-sexual harassment bill following the BBC African Eye Sex-for-Grades documentary, which exposed the sexual misconduct of lecturers at University of Lagos and University of Ghana. It should also be noted that a Professor of Accounting at Obafemi Awolowo University, Richard Akindele, was found guilty of sexual harassment and jailed in 2018.
What is the anti-sexual harassment bill about?
The bill is aimed at promoting ethical standards and protecting students against sexual harassment by lecturers in Nigerian tertiary institutions. The bill was re-introduced on October 9, 2019, and passed its second reading on November 2019.
How does the bill protect students?
– Any lecturer that demands for sex or has sex with a student or prospective student faces up to 14 years (minimum of 5 years) in prison with no option of fine.
– Any lecturer that intimidates or creates a hostile environment for a student by making sexual advances or soliciting for sex faces up to 14 years in prison with no option of fine.
– Any lecturer that directs another person to commit an act of sexual harassment or participates in a case of sexual harassment by another person faces up to 14 years in prison with no option of fine.
– Any lecturer that grabs, hugs, kisses, rubs, or strokes or touches or pinches the breasts or hair or lips or hips or buttocks or any other sensual part of the body of a student faces a minimum of 2 years and maximum of 5 years in prison.
– Any lecturer that displays, gives or sends by hand or courier or electronic or any other means naked or sexually explicit pictures or videos or sex related objects to a student faces a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years in prison.
– Any lecturer that whistles or winks at a student or screams or exclaims or jokes or makes sexually complimentary or uncomplimentary remarks about a student’s physique or stalks a student faces a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 5 years in prison.
The Bill has passed its third reading, what is next?
The bill has now gone through all the required steps and there are only a few things left before it is passed into law. Now, the Senate will send the bill to the House of Representatives for agreement. After that, it will be sent to the president for assent.
A lot of university students are calling for universities to reopen so they can resume. It’s not as if they like education, these are the real reasons they want schools to reopen:
1. They are now subjected to parental scrutiny 24/7 and they don’t like it.
And honestly, we can’t blame them. Nigerian parents do the most. When you are far away from them, they will rate you and want to see you. But once you are at home with them, see finish will enter it.
2. No more pocket money.
You are at home with them. What do you need pocket money for? If you were in school, it would be easy to call them and lie for money. But now, you have casted.
3. Staying at home means that graduation are now ruined.
Final years students are the ones affected the most, tbh. Class of 2020 has now become ’till further notice.’ God safe us.
It’s so bad that you can’t actually sneak out and you are stuck with your parents for real. Freedom of movement does not exactly exist in a Nigerian home.
5. No opportunity to fornicate.
Is it not when you are on your own that you can fornicate? How can you now be on your own when your parents are breathing down your back and house chores are your latest responsibilities?
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.
For many people, the university is the first chance they get to explore themselves. Relationships stay at the centre of these experiences, so it makes sense to have conversations about them.
The subjects in this story are students at University of Ibadan, and they talk about their struggles with relationships and unrequited crushes.
Seyi — My ex-boyfriend broke up with me for no reason
This guy collected my number from a mutual friend, reached out to me, and we started talking. He lived in Abuja, and I was at school in Ibadan, so we didn’t see each other for a while. He asked me to be his girlfriend when we finally met. I wasn’t ready for a relationship.
We drifted apart for some time. When he came back, we picked up from where we left off. He still wanted a relationship. I guess I was ready to take the plunge this time, so we started dating. For some weird reason, he wanted us to keep our relationship private.
We planned a week’s get-away to Lagos, but unfortunately, a school production put a dent in our plans, forcing us to reschedule. He travelled to Lagos a week before I was supposed to wrap up the production. The plan was for me to join him when I finished with my schoolwork.
A few days to our reunion, he posted a picture of him and a girl. He deflected and laughed it off when I asked him about it. I didn’t want to be dramatic, so I let it go. It didn’t matter at the time — I was going to meet him in a few days.
The morning before I was to travel to Lagos, he texted me to let me know that his plans had changed. He had an interview in Abuja and needed to return immediately. I was devastated, but I told him I understood.
He texted me again two days later with some bad news for me. He had decided that we should stop seeing each other. Why did he want to break things off? Well, according to him, he wasn’t over his ex, and he needed more time to focus on himself. It was all a lie, but it’s all right.
Francis — I had a crush on a lecturer.
In my first year, I took an elective course in a different department. The lecturer had just gotten out of the university and was so smart that the university kept her. She was relatively young, and I developed this massive crush on her. I thought I had a chance with her. I hoped that she would still be available when I got to my final year.
Before the end of the school year, she got married. The news broke my heart. I mean, I wrote a poem about her and sent it to my class group chat.
I dreaded returning to school the next semester. She was gone and I wasn’t sure how I would live with it. It was stupid. I saw her and realised that the attraction wasn’t as strong as it was. By the time she had her baby, I felt close to nothing. It wouldn’t have worked out, anyway.
Bolaji — My rebound guy managed to break my heart
I had just gotten out of a toxic relationship when this guy came into the picture. I was still healing — all I wanted to do was to hurt someone else. In my defence, I warned him about the dark place I was in, but he promised that we would deal with it together.
He was totally in, giving me all the attention I needed. Eventually, I relented and agreed to be in a relationship with him. He was nothing more than a rebound to me, though.
To be honest, I did everything I could to like him, but it didn’t happen. He did everything right — he knew my love languages and made sure I got enough of them. All this wasn’t enough for me. In the end, I just resigned to fate and convinced myself that he asked for it if I ever broke his heart.
Four months into the relationship, I found out that he was keeping tabs on his ex. We had talked about the girl before that time, and he’d implied that he would be with the girl and not me if they were in the same school. I didn’t care about this, but I cared that he lied about being in contact with her. I got mad and broke up with him.
It should be easy to move on from him. It wasn’t. I went back and asked that we tried again. We got back together. However, something changed in him. It was almost as if he now hated me and only got back together to punish me. He started going out with other girls without caring about how I felt about it. The tables turned. This time, I was the one fighting to keep us together. Finally, he admitted that he was tired of the relationship. I know we both had to cut our losses, but it felt like I was the bigger loser. I managed to get my heart broken again.
Dami — My ex-boyfriend was with me because of my money.
I met this guy through a friend. I liked what I saw, collected his number and reached out to him. We had an instant connection, making it seem like the start of something great. Two weeks into knowing each other, he asked me to be his girlfriend.
At the time, we hadn’t met. He studies at OAU, but I didn’t think it was a problem. Not long after, I went to OAU for a competition, and we finally saw each other for the first time. It was everything I thought it would be. It felt so right that we had sex on our first night together.
I returned to school, and we were still so into each other. I went to see him again after some time. However, on both occasions, I was the one spending money on everything. Again, I didn’t think that it meant anything.
He started to drift away from me. I thought it was the distance and believed that it was something we could work out. He didn’t share the same thought. He was determined to break up with me, and it hurt deeply. I flared up on the day he called to deliver the news and said some nasty things.
He sent me different texts the following day. He called me unsavoury names amongst other things and admitted that he never committed to the relationship. According to him, he was only using me for my money.
A month later, I called to tell him I was willing to forgive him, hoping to hit refresh. It didn’t happen. If anything, I gave him another opportunity to insult me.
It wasn’t a good experience, and it almost broke me. I’m thankful that it happened, though. At the moment, I have a sexual partner. It’s better that way.
Rebecca — My ex-boyfriend’s friends turned him against me.
I was 16, and he was 18. I wasn’t even in uni at the time. We were friends for more than a year before we decided to enter into a relationship. It was hard because I had a thing with his brother, and people knew about it. However, he didn’t care. That meant a lot to me.
Things were good with him. We were together for a whole year before we had our first significant fight. Unfortunately, we never got past it.
One of his friends had asked me to be his valentine, which was very surprising because I only spoke to him because of my boyfriend. I turned him down and thought that was the end of it.
Two nights later, my boyfriend called me. He was high. He wanted to know why I wanted to be with his friend instead of him and why I couldn’t outrightly turn him down when he asked me to go out with him. There was more — he talked about how his friends had told him that I was a hoe and how they put the other friend up to asking me out. It was a ploy to prove that I would get down with anybody. I was a virgin, so I didn’t understand why any of them thought I was sleeping with anyone.
He apologised the next morning, and we tried to move past it. However, something changed in our relationship. I couldn’t quite figure out what it was. We were different. Eventually, we broke up.
I found out that his friends still called me a hoe and he didn’t make them stop. It hurt so much, but I wasn’t ready to let go. For about two weeks, I begged him to trust me. Finally, I came to terms that he didn’t. There was no use in fighting for something that wasn’t working out. It fizzled out, and well, we moved on with our lives. To be honest, it was his loss.
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.
