Nigerian students! I thought we all agreed school was a scam? I thought we had decided to abandon
our “Greatest gbo gbo!!”s? I thought we were just going to focus on making money and leave our universities to their owners? So, tell me why, on the first day of resumption, I had to spend about 10 minutes queuing at the car park before finally getting a keke? And why, when I finally got to my faculty, I could barely find an empty seat in the LLT?
Uhn! Nigerian students, didn’t we agree that we were all ‘mechanics’? Wasn’t our collective prayer that God should somehow make us ‘ballers’? Why, then, am I seeing new phones and cars everywhere?
Nigerian students, by now, the novelty of finally resuming and seeing everybody again has to be wearing off. You’re falling back into your old routines. With the morning rush for early classes and the maddening afternoon heat, you’re remembering why you hated school oh so much. You have probably wondered why you bothered returning.
A lot of Nigerian students are only in university because that was the logical next step. However, during the strike, the thin veil that had been concealing a future without tertiary education was lifted, and, well, they liked what they saw. This left just one question on their minds: “Is a degree really that important?”
Honestly, probably not. A degree does not guarantee steady employment, a high income, or success. In addition, we live in an amazing era where, with just a few online courses and self-development, you can be earning just as much as—if not more than—the average 4-year degree holder. So, you could just find out which skills are most important for your career path and work hard to excel in them.
Nigerian students, while having a degree does not guarantee having a good life, it increases your chances. At the end of the day, both education and marketable skills are important. It’s just up to you to decide if you want to get the education and skills through an institution or on your own in the real world.
Nigerian students, I know it’s hard. I know it’s expensive. I know it’s stressful, but please persevere.
Whether school’s a scam or not, you’re already in it. Might as well finish…right?
By: Ibukun Keyamo
