What are the meanest things we did while in school? Many of the memories we have of being in school – from primary school to the university – have at one point or another involved bullying or one mean behaviour or another. Sometimes, we are the victims of these behaviours, and other times, we are the perpetrators.

So we spoke with 8 Nigerians on the meanest things they did while in school.

Teni, 23

When I was in Jss 3, during intro-tech class, I whistled and the teacher asked who did it, I refused to own up to it. He got upset and threatened to punish the entire class if the culprit didn’t speak up and true to his words, he made us all kneel outside in the sun all day. We were all in the school’s courtyard and although some people cried, I still refused to confess.

Kasa, 25

I had this literature teacher that scored me badly one time and so I spent every waking moment gaslighting her. I would correct her English, constantly disagree, roll my eyes while she taught, spit in her water whenever she asked me to get her some. She couldn’t get anyone to punish me because no one believed I could do anything like that, plus she was a junior teacher. I hated her so much that I gt my mum to complain and she eventually left the school. Not my proudest moment but she wasn’t exactly the best person either. She scored me badly consistently and I knew I was smart because the previous teacher who was more experienced always gave me high scores.

Sandra, 23

So because of my handwriting, my teachers would usually leave their lesson notes with me and have me write on the board for others to copy. But we had more boys than girls and due to my small stature, most of the boys would refuse to copy the notes down and so I had to find a way to deal with them. I would divide the board into two and on the first part, I would make my handwriting smaller than usual then when I get to the second part, I’d start writing with bigger handwriting. Then I’d clean the first part from the bottom while they keep shouting that they are still writing. I’d be like that is none of my business, I have written the notes for all of you, and I’d tell them to take it up with the teacher when they come to class. After a while, they started paying attention whenever I jot things down on the board.

Cletus, 21

We got a new french teacher after the old one suddenly left. This was the first time our new french teacher ever taught anyone, so our set used that against her. One time, she was meant to teach class D after a free period but once she came in, she saw the class emptied of the chairs and tables except for one chair and table which faced the white board with the words ” you can teach yourself” written in french for her. Apparently, the class had used their free period to do all of that. We heard she broke down and cried. After that day we didn’t try her again and made sure we gave her utmost respect.

Uyai, 18

I was a bully to a lot of junior students while in school. I was known for everything from punishments to cheating when serving food to beating them. I wasn’t very good at controlling my anger so whenever a junior disrespected me I switched and I’d beat them. I wasn’t scared of fighting as I was always ready to fight anybody. I’m very sure my name would still ring bells in my secondary school. I changed school a lot. I was in a military school for like a term and it was hell because seniors dealt with us. They had so much power they could do whatever they wanted. I wasn’t always wicked but after going through that I wanted to be that one with power the person that everyone feared and respected so going to the next school, that was the mindset I had.

Ayo, 21

I had a girlfriend who broke up with her love interest, and the love interest (also a girl) still went ahead to insult my girl. So I wrote a very mean letter to her new love. Her name(she’s also female) had a kolo in it. It was a two paged letter and I wrote that she was “Kolomental as her name implied”, that she’s a third-hand grade Okrika cloth. That’ she’s cheap, ugly and she and the other girl deserved themselves. I went ahead to call the other girl a local champion and a church rat too. I wrote that she pretended a lot and that she was from a bush village in Calabar and that she likes to overperform her asthma attacks.

It’s been almost 7yrs and I can’t remember all the contents of the letter, but I know there was a huge uproar that night because of it. All her classmates saw and read the letter, and they wanted to beat me that night, but I stood my ground. People talked about that letter for the rest of the term.

Bobby, 28

I had this girl I really liked although she wasn’t conventionally gorgeous. She liked me as well and I guess she got tired of us just liking each other and brought up a conversation about how we both felt. At the time, I was an insensitive potato so I told her I couldn’t be with her and expressed (in really mean words) how insulted I was by her thinking something could happen between us.

Chris, 29

So I had gone to school with those rat traps that had a clamp and pin. The type that snaps and holds the rat down. My school was semi bougie and I was coming from a different background. The pupils in my class didn’t know what the rat traps looked like so I brought one to school. I was like an inventor that day, they were marveled at this engineering. Now, my class had a bad belle Prefect who didn’t like that I was being a star.

She went to report me to my form master and that one said she should seize the trap and take it to him. When she came to take it from me, I set it inside my school bag and told her to take it out, long story short, she was in tears with blood dripping from her finger and I spent the rest of the day in the staff room carry out various types of punishments.