Be honest. How many academic sessions did ASUU strike steal from you? One? Two? Some of us lost almost a full year sitting at home, watching our mates in private universities or abroad move ahead. And when school finally resumed, we were expected to just pick up and continue like the trauma of uncertainty never happened. That's just one chapter of the Nigerian student experience. Then there's the fees. Every new session, something goes up. Acceptance fee. Development levy. Medical fee. Accommodation fee. And somehow, the facilities never match what is being collected. Libraries without books. Laboratories without equipment. Hostels with no running water and epileptic electricity, if any at all. Students from poor and middle class homes are taking on enormous pressure just to stay enrolled. Some are doing menial jobs, selling on the side, or depending on relatives who are also barely surviving. All of this while trying to read and pass exams. And the lecturers? Many are underpaid, overworked, and frustrated, which sometimes flows directly into how students are treated. The whole chain is broken. So who is actually in the student's corner? Student unions try but they are often silenced, manipulated, or underfunded. The government makes promises during election seasons and disappears after. University management is focused on IGR. Parents are doing their best with limited resources. The Nigerian student is essentially navigating a crisis alone and still expected to produce world class results. We need louder conversations. We need policy changes. We need leaders who treat education like the national emergency it is. Until then, to every student still showing up despite all of this. You are genuinely one of the strongest people alive. Don't let anyone take that from you. 🔥
