Nobody tells you the full truth before you gain admission. They tell you about the course, the campus, the opportunities. Nobody sits you down and says, "By the way, you will also be learning how to survive in a system that was not built for you." And yet that is exactly what Nigerian students are doing every single day. The cost of being a student in Nigeria today goes far beyond school fees. It's the money spent on generators and fuel because NEPA will not cooperate during night reading. It's buying lecture notes because the library doesn't have updated textbooks. It's paying for a private lesson because the lecturer was absent half the semester. It's feeding yourself on the smallest budget possible while trying to keep your brain sharp enough to pass exams. Off campus students are dealing with exploitative landlords, insecurity, and commuting long distances just to attend classes. On campus students are cramped into hostels that were built for half the current population. Everyone is managing, coping, adjusting, surviving. And the mental health side of it? Almost nobody is talking about that. Anxiety before exams is normal. But the kind of anxiety Nigerian students carry is different. It's the fear of another strike. The fear of not having money for the next semester. The fear of graduating into emptiness. That kind of pressure quietly breaks people. We came to school to build a future. Not to fight just to stay enrolled. To every student reading this, your struggle is real and it is valid. You are not weak for finding it hard. The environment is hard. You are still showing up and that already says everything about your character. Keep going. Your story isn't over. 💪🏾
