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Nigerian universities are like countries with faculties as their states. Every faculty is an entire experience on its own. It’s like every faculty comes with a unique culture inspired by the day to day activities of the students as they chase their B.sC. Here’s a list of 6 things every Nigerian engineering student will relate with:
1. Having only 5 to 10 girls in one entire level with more than 100 boys.
The boy girls ratio in engineering departments is always shocking. Gather them into a hall and randomly throw a stone and it will still not fall on a girl’s head. And this of course leaves little room for inhouse romance.
2. Going to social sciences or faculty of arts for events.
Because like Patoranking and Falz collaborated to say: “The party no go sweet if girls no dey”. And those faculties have way more girls.
3. Mechanical drawing.
There’s that one course that gives your sleepless nights and tasteless days. The course has you doing and submitting assignments back to back and summersaults you into a panic attack when the exam date is announced. You can never be ready enough.
4. A sprinkle of Maths in every course.
Engineering may be the name of the department but do not be fooled, Mathematics is the bestie she can’t live without. There’s always a formula to learn or use with every course and the calculations never end.
5. Bad boy reps.
People always assume that “engine boys” are bad boys. A reputation which they most often enjoy because bad boys have all the fun in school.
6. The stress and pressure of final year project.
The pressure hits mentally, academically, and financially. As if that’s not enough pain in itself there’s always that efiko group that builds a helicopter or a car and gets featured in the papers. People now be wondering what the other people in the department did with their 5 years.
7. Your friends graduating before you.
Because engineering is a 5-year contract but your friends only signed up for a 4-year social science course. You’ll be struggling with your final year project while your friends are balling at NYSC camp.
Do you know any Nigerian engineering student? Tag them in the comments.
If you’ve ever taken an online course, then you know how hard it can be. And this is you as an adult who knows the importance of these things, let alone a child who just wants to watch Nickelodeon in peace.
Curious about how learning has been outside a classroom, I asked Nigerian teachers how the experience has been.
Kola – 28.
“The major challenge has been the novelty of passing information via a screen. This is not even about using computers and all. It has been difficult to pass knowledge because this is a new technology for both the teachers and the students in these parts. Most times, we use some measure of fear to make the students sit still and focus, but that effect is not the same over a screen.”
Alex, 26.
“A major challenge is timing. The student that had the longest attention span was 1 hour. Over time, they got tired because they are also affected by what is happening. To them, the fact that they are not in the classroom gives them the idea that they are meant to be relaxed. Not having to dress up and get into traffic makes them feel like they are on holiday. So, if you tell them that they have to come online at this time, and they have to do that every day, what happens is that they lose interest.
So, it’s not as effective as them showing up physically everyday. They don’t get the chance to be tired if it’s physically. They may be tired but they have to see it through.”
Bode, 24.
“I run a private tutorial center and it’s a bit more expensive to run an online class than offline. There are many factors. Firstly, we are making lesser money per hour online because of reduced hours. Students are only taking 30 mins to an hour lesson as compared to 2 – 3 hours of lessons.
Secondly, parents are not ready to pay as much as before because they are cutting costs. So, lesser revenue and increased expenditure.
Thirdly, internet and power are such a big issue that sometimes you wonder why you bother. It’s so easy to give up after the tenth “can you hear me?”
Kehinde, 27.
“I tutor IELTS and since the exam got suspended, students haven’t been coming. Many of them think the world is ending and IELTS won’t matter again. So, I haven’t had any students in a while. It has been a tough couple of months as this is my main hustle. I am just grateful that my wife has a job because it would have been terrible for us.”
Biola, 27.
“I run a tutorial center for WAEC and JAMB in Mushin. My business model is a large crowd paying small money so I can make a turnover. I optimize for one thousand students paying N1,000. But now that Government has said we should lockdown, I have been losing money everyday – No crowd.
I thought of going online but the students can’t even afford data to watch the videos. I am confused about how to help them. At this point, it’s not even about the money, it’s about helping kids who are already at an obvious disadvantage. I feel sitting at home may widen that disadvantage compared to their richer counterparts who can afford online home tutorial.”
Tosin, 23.
“I am happy oh. Thank God for COVID so I don’t have to show up in any useless school. I don’t know why NYSC sends graduates to teach. I don’t think there’s any NYSC teacher that enjoys teaching. Let them lock us down till this foolish NYSC is over.”
The first year in a Nigerian university is always one hell of a ride. It’s like finally getting admitted into this prestigious club but then the club has more downs than ups. Here’s a list of some good and bad stuff year one students in Nigerian universities will relate to:
1. All the registration stress and queues.
The one thing you can be certain about in Nigerian universities is queues. There is always a queue, and it’s worse for year one students because they have a registration deadline to meet.
2. The wait for reg number.
You spend 2 weeks on campus and you are still stuck with your JAMB reg number.
3. Matriculation day excitement.
And of course, your parents come through Nigerian style. One cooler of rice, a cake in the university colors and crates of malt for your friends and fans
4. Priding in the fact that you now have “lectures” and not “lessons”.
Levels have changed yo.
5. Dropping the name of your university with shoulders high when neighbours ask.
Status successfully upgraded.
6. The struggle for accommodation.
The struggle is indeed real. Lagos state agents have got nothing on campus agents. It be your own students.
7. Attending classes back to back because you want to make first-class.
With 5.0 CGPA goals on your mind. In spite of the fact that you and WAEC did not really end on good terms.
Humbled by the questions that look like HD when the lectures were only taught in 2D. Also humbled by the mean invigilators and how much space they put between desks. And finally humbled by the fact that other people are already asking for an extra sheet and you can’t even bring yourself to understand what question one wants from you.
9. Checking your first exam results.
You go with your heart in your hands because. And on your way you probably get flashbacks from all the times you were sleeping like a bear when you should have been cramming definitions.
10. First embarrassment from a lecturer.
And you’re like, I thought the point of being a university student is that I will now be treated like an adult? Which one is “get out of my class”?
That’s 9 things most year one students in Nigerian Universities will relate to. Which struggle was the realest for you?
Two things are important to the average Nigerian student; food and money. Once they work around these, most of the work is done. These are some of the most popular hacks the Nigerian student is used to.
1. Bringing foodstuff from home
Nobody has time to spend hours at the markets close to the school and still buy stuff at double the price they go for. The game is the game!
2. Finding a way around accommodation
The average Nigerian student leverages their goodwill and squat with someone or gets a room with roommates. Privacy is not a concept that works in Nigerian tertiary institutions.
3. Putting pots and hot plates to good use
Why would anyone spend so much on a plate of food that will last for a few minutes when they can spend almost the same amount of money on a pot of food that should last twice as much?
4. Cutting down on textbooks and school materials
The lecturer that threatens students who don’t buy their textbooks with an F doesn’t know what it going on. Dead people don’t study for exams or write them.
5. Attending school events because of the promise of free food
Nobody has the time to form when food is involved, even if it means sitting through hours of boring lectures.
6. Gatecrashing parties
Are you even a Nigerian student if you’ve never thought of going to a wedding party holding on your school grounds without an invitation?
Life in the den (PS: “The den” is the second cooler name of the UNN campus) comes with mixed experiences. One day you are at a party having the time of your life and then the next you are looking at an F on a course you spent nights studying and asking God “how?”. We asked 7 UNN graduates about their worst UNN experiences and here’s what they told us:
Ivy, Graduated, 2018: My graduation was delayed because my department misplaced my results.
When I was about to graduate my department said they were looking for 3 of my courses. With a lot of difficulty and plenty of insults, I was able to get one of the results. But one of the lecturers said he (he was the exam officer) will only release it when he feels like. And mind you there was limited time before merit list would be out. In the end and after so much crying and begging he still did not release it. He checked the results o and he saw I didn’t fail it. But he just said he didn’t feel like releasing it. I had to involved the HOD (God bless that reverend sister’s soul) and she fought for it. Let me not even get into what went down with the third course.
Kelechi, Graduated 2019: I got robbed in my lodge.
I still have some leftover PTSD from this event. My roommate and I got robbed in our room off-campus. It was during my final year days when I had just relocated to the most popular off-campus also known as “hilltop” reputable for bad boys/girls, cultists and etc. I had been warned but I let my caution down one night when my roommate and I fell asleep while our balcony door was somewhat wide open. By approximately 3:20 am, with extremely bright lights on our faces and fear in our tongues, we were robbed of our beloved phones. The next morning, we realized we weren’t the only ones. The robber had also robbed almost everyone in one series of the lodge. It taught me a number of lessons, especially that, the Den actually had a lot of hungry lions – literally.
David, Graduated 2017: My phone got stolen during an exam.
During exams we are asked to drop our bags outside the hall. I left my wallet and newly acquired Iphone in there. When I came back to get my bag i noticed my phone was just gone. I almost ran mad.
Onyinye, Graduated 2018: The exam invigilator tore my script.
I was combining two courses and that in itself was already hell. Having to write three different papers on the same day, thereby having to spend half hours for two exams just because lecturers refused to shift exams for each other like they’re having some sort of interdepartmental beef. Also when I got my script torn in the exam hall. I just hate failing
Sandra, Graduated 2017: My final clearance was a nightmare.
Courtesy of the tedious bureaucratic process the university so diligently upholds. My final clearance week was a total nightmare. I spent most of it trekking from office to office under the hot sun and in most offices I met snail speed queues. Plus all the fees I suddenly had to pay. I’m so glad that phase is long over. I can say my final clearance definitely topped the list of my was my worst UNN experiences.
Henry, Graduated 2016: I failed the same course twice.
In my defense I didn’t fail the course the first time. My result got misplaced and I had to rewrite the course. Since I didn’t really fail it the first time, I figured I would see the questions and remember the answers the I gave the first time. Spoiler- It ended in tears.
“Great loins and lionesses!”, if UNN graduates got a dollar for each time they were called that and expected to “roar” in return they wouldn’t have had to immediately go into the job market. Because they would be swimming in all the dollars they got.
That aside, here are 10 other things UNN graduates can relate to:
1. Walking through the Stadium at night and reciting Psalm 23 because the stadium becomes a literal shadow of death at night.
And you are with your phone and laptop because your smart ass had to go for nightclass.
2. When they postpone GS and CEDR again
You’ll be on your own diligently reading for the exam and the next thing you’ll see a message from the course rep in the Whatsapp group saying they have post opened the exam again. But your bag of rice and carton of noodles has already finished.
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.
Grades are arguably the most important things to students and they strive to get the best they can get out of the courses they register for. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always go according to plan. The Fs somehow find their ways into transcripts. However, when this happens, it becomes important to move on. But what’s this process like? We asked five Nigerian students to tell us how they dealt with this situation when it happened to them.
When I wrote JAMB, I applied for Federal University of Petroleum, Effurun, Warri, but I didn’t get that. It turned out that I was going to UNIZIK to study Industrial and Production Engineering. It wasn’t what I wanted, but life had to go on.
However, I didn’t get past the fact that I didn’t get what I went after. I nursed an apathy towards what my course and I couldn’t care less to put every bit of myself into it. The interest wasn’t there, so what was the point? It didn’t take long before all of this baggage caught up with me. In my first year, I got an E in all the 3 credit courses I registered for. My CGPA was sinking. I was the first girl studying an engineering-related course in my family, so there was mad pressure to get myself together from my family. That was when I knew that it wasn’t all about me. The realisation hit heavily and I had no idea what to do with it. I literally cried myself to sleep every night.
Somehow, I managed to survive my first year with no carry-over. Then I took this computer programming course. I got an F in it. That was a major setback. I’d made my parents believe that I had an awesome CGPA. I got suicidal and made good on my plans to end it. To end the pain and everything that came with it. That F really messed me up.
I don’t want to sound morbid, but I think I needed to go through that suicidal phase. It made me realise how much I like living. When I got out of it, it dawned on me fully that I was stuck here. That I could control what could happen if I wanted to. That I have to love this course if I ever want to be good at it. This was the turning point. I decided to put in the work. Took a lot of effort and sleepless nights, but it was totally worth it.
Ajarat Oluwatobiloba, University of Lagos, 300L
It started with the assignment, which was going to be our CA. I made some mistakes, and I got 14/40. It was certain that I had to write the exam like my life depended on it, and that was what I planned to do. Until the exam timetable was released. I was going to sit for two other exams on the same day I was going to write the exams for this course. It felt like the universe had conspired against me. There was a blackout on the eve of the exams. I managed to study for all three courses the best I could.
I woke up sick on the day of the exams — the stress had caught up to me. When it was time for the last paper, which was the one I was dreading because of my CA score, I blanked out. I was practically empty of ideas. Well, I failed it.
At the beginning of the session, I registered for it again. Now, I’m just waiting for the second semester so I can write it again and get it over with. I’ve decided not to stress myself about it. When the time comes to rewrite it, I’m going to just face it head-on. Whatever happens, happens.
I had to take a course where the major chunk of the final grade depends on a field trip. The field trip alone takes 60% of the marks. Unfortunately, the payment deadline had passed before I knew that it was time for the field trip. I began a frantic search for the faculty coordinator, who was also a student. When I finally got in contact with him, he told me that it was too late and he couldn’t accept any payment since the deadline had passed. I understood where he was coming from, but I had to salvage the situation.
I went to see the course adviser and explained the situation to him. Luckily, he understood and he allowed me to pay him. And I thought that was all.
On the day of the field trip, my name wasn’t called. I complained but the person in charge said that the only way that could happen was if I didn’t pay the fee. I rushed to the course adviser’s office, only to be told that the man had travelled and no one knew when he would be back. Two weeks later, I got his number. He confirmed that he was on some official trip but would be back soon.
When he eventually got back and I told him about the recent developments, he admitted that he gave the list where my name was to another lecturer who was supposed to coordinate the trip while he was away. However, he asked me not to fret — that he was on top of the situation. And I believed him. When the final grades came out, I found out what I should have known all along. I failed the course.
It hurt that I paid the money I was expected to pay but nothing came out of it. But there was nothing to do about it — I had to register for the course again. Luckily, it was an elective and didn’t reflect on my CGPA, so that didn’t take a hit. But it hurt.
Victory Odey, University of Calabar, 400L
There was a course I registered for in my second year and was so sure I wouldn’t have a problem with. The CA test and exams were a breeze and I was very confident of how well I would do. I returned to school for my third year and sometime in the first semester, the results were released. I checked and an F was looking back at me. The shock hit me like a wave. This wasn’t supposed to happen. I found it hard to swallow the humiliation that came after.
I felt terrible. Over and over, I thought about what could have happened, but the answers eluded me. It was a trying period for me. I lost all confidence in myself and developed a phobia for exams. My psyche was so messed up, I would come home and cry after I finished writing an exam. The whole experience was just draining.
At the height of it, I wanted to drop out of school. I actually ran away from home at some point. I had a series of talks with my HOD, my mentor, and my friends and I realised that I had to do better if I wanted to get rid of the pain. Fortunately, I had smart friends who stuck with me. I moved out of my parents’ home and went to live with one of them. She took the lead on helping me study and also assisted in finding a study plan that worked best for me. I sat for the exam again and made it. By the time I was done with my third year, my grades had improved tremendously, and I haven’t looked back.
Victor Ilorah, University of Nigeria, 400L
I had just gotten into the school, and I didn’t know a lot about how things worked. It was time for the first-semester exams and a timetable was released. I thought that was the final timetable, but apparently, they were still making changes. I didn’t have a smartphone at the time, so I relied on memos and my friends for information. But these failed when it mattered the most.
The changes to the timetable affected one of the exams I was supposed to write. They pushed the time for the exam up, and I was totally out of the loop. It was originally scheduled for 12 noon before it was changed to 11 AM. I got to school around 10 AM, but before I realised what had happened, it was past 12. The examiner wouldn’t let me and another student who was affected by the change in. It was the first day I cried in school.
I went to see the course adviser, but he wasn’t helpful at first. After a lot of back and forth, he promised to look into it and maybe find a way where the result wouldn’t affect my CGPA, even though I had to register for the course again. He didn’t. I failed the course and it reflected in my GPA.
It was a process but I accepted the fact that I couldn’t beat myself up for it forever. It was hard because I believed the course adviser. I just knew that I couldn’t put myself in such a situation again. I could actually say that the event made me a better student because I promised myself not to have another carryover in any course. And I have stayed true to that promise.
Are you currently studying in Nigeria or elsewhere and have a story to share about your life in school? Please take a minute to fill this form and we will reach out to you ASAP.
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.
Sometimes Nigerian universities are fun, but most times they are episode after episode of pure hell. If you attended one then you can probably identify one of the reasons why you hated school on this list. Or two reasons, or three. Or maybe the entire list is your story too.
1. There’s ALWAYS a queue.
While Lagosians are spending half their lifetime roasting in traffic, Nigerian students are spending there’s on queues. There’s a long queue at the banks, another one at the bursar’s office, and another at the bus stop, and at the toilet, at the restaurant too, at the Wi-Fi zone, there’s even a queue for your crush. And the queues make it a point to move at snail speed.
2. WhatsApp groups were invented in Nigerian universities.
There’s a WhatsApp group for everything; for every faculty, for every department, for every level in the department, for people who have forgotten their registration numbers, for people who have issues, for the people planning a party and even for people attending the party.
3. Assignments.
You think nursery, primary and secondary schools have all given you enough assignments for one lifetime but you get into the university and realize you are just starting.
4. Blackouts ergo water scarcity on campus.
Just when you have a deadline to submit an assignment the blackouts start and the water scarcity always almost follows suit. And you can best believe the university management is hardly ever in a hurry to fix the issue.
5. Impromptu tests a.k.a Tear out a sheet of paper.
The absolute worst kind of surprise. And lecturers loooooove to see it happen. Don’t they know that nobody reads until the exam time table is published?
6. Strikes.
At first you think it’s not so bad. Its like going on holiday before holiday, but then the strike stretches into months and you start wondering if you’ll ever see your B.SC in this life.
Lecturer-student relationship in Nigeria is quite something. There are a lot of decisions the lecturers make, which the students cannot object to. However, this doesn’t mean they won’t react under their breath. These are some of the most popular decisions and the accompanying reactions.
Enforcing the 75/80 % attendance rule
“I thought I was an adult and responsible for everything I do now. So what if I don’t feel like attending your class. What does it matter to you if I even fail this course? “
Organising impromptu tests
“This is not the “open for a surprise” situation I signed up for. Why are you so bent on giving me this F?”
Locking the lecture room after 10 minutes
“Look, it took me a lot to get here. You should be glad that I even came at all. Now, allow me into the lecture room and we will forget about all of this.”
Scheduling classes for weekends
“I know you probably have a lot of free time on your hands, but I’m a busy person, and of all the things I planned for the weekend, attending a lecture wasn’t one of them.”
Giving group assignments
“If you can give group assignments, why don’t you give us free rein during the exams to work collectively as well? Now, I have to figure out a way to work with this person I absolutely detest. “
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.
Every student at the point of their entry into the university believes that they’re about to have some of the best years of their life. It’s the university — you have the opportunity to become whoever you want. What could go wrong? Sure, some people enjoy their time in university, some don’t. For this week’s Aluta and Chill, we asked 5 students of University of Lagos to share the worst experiences they’ve had to live through as students of the university.
Emmanuel, Business Administration, 200L – Missed a test
There was a test I needed to write in my first year and I studied long and hard for it. I was confident about my chances of acing it. At the time, I lived at Mariere Hall and the test was to hold at the Faculty of Arts, which was very close to my hostel. Two days before the test, my phone died on me and wouldn’t come back on, so I was cut off from the rest of the world. I could study for the test because all my notes were backed up on Google drive. I borrowed my roommate’s laptop and used it to study. On the evening before the test, I went to confirm the time and venue of the test.
On the day of the test, I got to the venue in time. However, there was a problem. there were no traces of my classmates, and that was when I knew that I might be in trouble. I checked all the lecture rooms in the faculty, even the lecturers’ offices, hoping I would see someone I recognised but nada. I ran back to the hostel to borrow my roommate’s phone to call the Class Rep. Apparently, they had moved the test to another venue. The best option was to take a vehicle, but I had no cash on me and my ATM card was bad. If I wanted to get money, I would have to go to the bank, and I didn’t have time. I decided to run to the new venue, hoping for a miracle.
When I got there, the test was over. I walked up to the lecturer and explained to him. But when he asked for my matriculation number, I panicked again and ran out of the hall. Subsequently, I went to a female lecturer to enlist her help. In the end, the lecturer agreed to arrange a make-up test for me, and he did. But there was a twist, the questions weren’t part of my year’s syllabus so we hadn’t been taught any of it. It was chilling but I wrote what I could. I got 7/30 in that test and it messed me up. I didn’t do anything wrong, life just decided to mess with me.
Gamaliel, Cell Biology and Genetics, 300L – Betrayed by a friend
There was this girl I liked when I was in 100 level. She was friends with my sister’s boyfriend at the time, so I had access to her. I told her how I felt and it seemed like she liked me too. We were both getting over our exes but we enjoyed each other’s company. At some point, I had problems with my phone and needed to fix it. She offered to borrow me 5k. I was hesitant because I wasn’t sure when I could return it. Things were a little rough at home and I spent the little money I got on drugs. She said that I could return it whenever I wanted to and that was it.
She called to see me on a weekend. There was a shortage of water in the hostel, so I had no plans to leave the hostel. But when the call came in, I hustled for a bucket of water, which was very stressful. I made it to her hostel to hangout but we had a fight because her friends didn’t like the way I dressed. She called to apologize the following day and I thought we were good. I would later find out that she had told my sister’s boyfriend some unflattering things she had noticed about me.
I felt betrayed and I withdrew from her. That was when everything hit the roof; she demanded that I pay her money back. It hurt but I asked her to give me some days to raise the cash but she refused. I called my dad and told him that I needed to buy my drugs.
My dad sent the money during the weekend, but there were bank issues and I didn’t get the money until Monday. It turned out that she had told her ex that I borrowed money from her. I’d never felt so low in my life. I sent her the money through my sister, but she refused to collect it, saying someone told her not to collect it anymore. The next time we saw, I offered her the money again, but still, she refused. I was done with her. I left the money on the floor and left. The treatment was appalling, and I vowed never to subject myself to such again. It was tough for me because we were supposed to be friends. It’s not a memory I like to remember, but yeah, it is what it is.
Anuoluwapo, Systems Engineering, 400L – Got an F and didn’t get a scholarship
When I got into university, I was so sure that there was no way I would get an F in a course. If everything worked against me, I couldn’t do worse than a C. In 200 level, I registered for a federal government scholarship. Unfortunately, the exam was scheduled for the same day I needed to write a CA test for a course in school. I’d made up my mind to stab the scholarship exam until I heard that the department had decided that whoever registered for the scholarship can go for the exam, we only had to submit a slip to the department to let them know. I did that and went for the exam.
We did loads of assignments for the course and I thought the department would use them to grade us in lieu of the test. But did they?
I was with my best friend in church when the result found its way into my class WhatsApp group. I was engrossed with the activities of the church. My friend, on the other hand, had seen the results but she didn’t tell me anything. I noticed that she was acting weird but I didn’t pay much attention to it. She stepped out of the church for some time and I got bored, so I turned on my internet and saw all the messages on the group chat. We had just resumed at the time, and that meant that a result had been released. I downloaded the document and I checked for my name. Then I saw it. A big F staring back at me.
I registered for 11 courses that semester and I got an A in 10, but my perfect CGPA was ruined by this F I got, and this wouldn’t have happened if I sat for the test. It was not funny. The damage the F did is still evident in my CGPA. I registered for the course again in 300 level, and it was hell to combine it with my 300 level courses. The most frustrating part of this story is that I didn’t get the scholarship either. I lost on both fronts. It wasn’t a good experience, but I’m sure that’s the last time I will let something like this happen.
Toluwalase, Building, 500 Level – Failed a tough course
This story started in my third year. Of course, it was a course. It wasn’t a walk in the park. The lecturer did his best, but it wasn’t good enough. Every lecture was a struggle. The class was large, and it was hard to get anything out of the lectures, which sucked, considering how intensive the course was. When it was time for the exam. I crammed every bit of information I needed and I was sure that I was ready. During the first 20 minutes of the exam, I blanked out and couldn’t write anything. It was that tough. The results were released later, and out of about 80 students who sat for the exam, only 15 passed.
I had to register for it again and subject myself to another year of practicals and reports. I studied like my life depended on it. But the experience was exactly the same as the first time. It didn’t make any sense. I got out of my head and did the best I could. During the holidays, word got out that the lecturer said nobody in my department managed to get up to 15 in the exam. I didn’t know what to think but the thought that I may have to sit for the exam another time filled me with dread.
When I eventually saw my grades, I got 40, which was the border between an E and an F. I don’t know what happened there and I decided to keep it moving. That experience has been the toughest so far. If you ask anyone from my department to tell their story, chances are that CG305 would come up.
Adewunmi, Law, 500L – A protest ruined his semester
I was in my first year. Everything was quiet until a few weeks to the commencement of first semester exams when things got to a head between the management and Student Union. And this massive protest was announced. Student representatives stormed the hostels, forcing students to participate in the protest. They literally dragged people out of their rooms. It was all chaotic and really scary for a year one student.
Things got out of hand quickly and the management announced that the school had been closed for 3 weeks. After school reopened, I was among the first sets of students to return. Unfortunately, I forgot my hall pass at home and the hostel staff wouldn’t let anyone in without them. We thought they would change their mind at first, but they didn’t.
With nowhere else to go, I made for the chapel. It was locked and I had no choice but to sleep outside. I still have nightmares from that night. The mosquitos had a grand feast on us. I barely slept an inch because there was no knowing what could happen. The horror story wasn’t over. The following morning, I discovered that my bag which had most of my textbooks had been stolen. Exams were close and I had no study material anymore. I performed badly in the exams because of this experience and I can’t say that I’ve gotten over it. Everything happened because of a protest I had no interest in.
Wani, Electrical Engineering, 500L – Dealing with an extra year scare
This happened in the second semester of my fourth year. I was on my IT when the first semester results were uploaded to my portal. I checked and saw that I got 23 in this course. This was strange. It was the easiest course I wrote that semester and I was so sure of an A. I took a leave from work the following day and rushed down to the school to lodge a complaint at the department.
God, I hate bureaucracy so much. The process for this sort of thing was too long for comfort, and for a minute, I contemplated accepting the result. First thing I needed to do was write a letter to the department, and it had to be signed by my course adviser, who was very hard to get a hold of. After chasing him up and down, I eventually got him to sign the letter and I forwarded it to the department. I got an appointment to see the lecturer in charge the following week. It turned out that there was a computing error. She promised to work on it. That was the moment I realised that even at your best, you’re at the mercy of the system.
Now, I haven’t seen this lecturer since I went to see her. It’s almost as if she is avoiding me, and I’m very worried about that. It’s hard to rectify a course that has been uploaded to the portal. There’s more bad news: if they don’t sort it out before the end of this session, I’m going to have an extra year.
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