In this part of the world, university education is pictured as a stepping stone to adulthood, with many Nigerian students embracing this form of higher education before delving into their respective careers. It is usually a season of exhilaration for newly admitted university students, known as freshmen, as they try to settle down and get attuned to the new life which university poses. However, while in their early campus days, many of these students get exposed to different experiences, ranging from great to terrible, some of which are likely to shape their stay till their final year.
In this episode of Nigerian Lives, we catch up with five university students who share bits of their freshmen experiences.
Ayomide, 21
I resumed a bit later than the normal resumption date for freshmen. This was due to the cost of school fees as a Stream 2 student. On my first day, I tried to locate my faculty but I couldn’t. I was also a shy person, so I couldn’t ask questions. On the second day, I located my faculty but I still couldn’t find my coursemates or department. I started receiving lectures for all the science courses, unaware that I only had to select my courses in accordance with departmental requirements. As time went by, I met a friend whom I knew from my neighborhood back at home, and I also met my class rep, both of whom helped me out. Luckily for me, my class rep was a nice guy who had always marked me present in the attendance even when I had not met him. In my first year, I didn’t know that I had to do faculty and departmental clearances, and that was because I kept to myself instead of engaging my coursemates in conversations to know what was happening.
Ilemobayo, 22
I entered Lagos State University in 2018 for a sandwich programme. I remember receiving my first lecture from a man named Dr Adedapo, and I was impressed by his delivery. It was an awesome lecture. However, 100 level was not an-all rosy affair. The most ridiculous experience I encountered was when a lecturer told me to get out of the class because I was too small or short to be in the sandwich programme. That affected me psychologically, but I got over it thanks to my parents and coursemates.
Adetoun, 24
I resumed the university in February 2018, full of enthusiasm. It was like a dream come true after 3 O’level and 2 JAMB attempts. I really do not like to remember my first day on campus. I lost my first android phone, which was less than a week old, on the morning of resumption. Being a greenhorn, I carelessly left it in my bag and those Sons of Belial stole it without my knowledge. I was all tears and unhappiness that morning, and I didn’t even pay any attention to the lectures. I couldn’t focus in class that day. Another experience I had that year was being falsely accused of wrongdoing by a classmate who didn’t even give me a listening ear and started calling me derogatory names. He later calmed down, but it was quite late. I forgave the person, but I vowed never to relate with him.
Susan, 23
When I gained admission into the university, it was with mixed feelings. I chose to study English language instead of law because I wanted to leave home, not because of any passion I had for the course. My first lecture was ENG 107, a course taught by a lecturer named Dr. Ben. The lecture was held in a building called CLL. Initially, I didn’t know the location, and it took me a while to get the place after asking some students around. When I got there, some older students had just completed an examination. They were also students of the Department of English. I heard them discussing and complaining about how difficult the examination was. They painted the lecturer as a difficult person. I was a bit scared at that moment, but I knew I would sail through the department because I was mentally prepared to handle any challenge. In the second semester of 100 level, I joined the university’s debate society. I was first a trainee. I heard the university would host an Inter-varsity debate. I wanted to be a representative of the university. I didn’t know it was going to be tougher than the kinds of debates I did in secondary school. After passing the preliminary screening, I got assigned a topic to prepare for. I did a lot of research on the topic, wrote down ideas, but failed to internalize my speech. When it was time for delivery, I went on stage without the paper and full of confidence. After announcing my name and introduction, I got stuck because I had forgotten my lines. I felt so embarrassed and ashamed. Meanwhile, other students appeared on stage and wowed the audience. Since then, I vowed never to give a speech in public if I had not practised enough.
Blessing, 24
Gaining admission into the university in 2019 was a dream come true for me because I was offered the course of my choice. I went through the strenuous process of medical and main registration which I actually took pleasure in. I resumed before lectures began. At that time, the stalites were still writing their second semester exams. I moved around the campus and got familiar with my new learning environment. As an antisocial person, it took a while to make friends. I remember that my first lecture in school was ZOO 101. It was basically all about definition of terms in Zoology and at a point I started questioning myself about the strange words (that are no longer strange) the lecturer mentioned. The three-hour class seemed to have lasted an eternity, and I was grateful when it ended. The course showed me shege but I passed it. With time, I made friends with some amazing personalities and changed my initial set of friends whom I found too dramatic. I also remember an altercation with a coursemate. On that particular day, I wrote my name on the attendance paper as ‘Blessing Ilesanmi’ instead of ‘Ilesanmi Blessing’. I saw nothing wrong with that. Unknown to me, my surname was supposed to come before my first name. But the guy who was to submit the attendance sheet to the lecturer started making a fuss about some undergraduate that didn’t know how to write his or her name. When he eventually called out my name, he went on rudely and insultingly reprimanding me until I couldn’t take it any more and overreacted. He made other coursemates start addressing me by my surname ‘Ilesanmi’, even though I detested it. It was an awkward experience at that time. Till date, most of my coursemates address me by my surname, but I no longer feel bad about it.