Image Credit: Directorate of Public Communication, UI
The Muffin Man
But upon resuming into UI, the average freshman gets exposed to vastly different circumstances than the one he was used to. First and foremost, he finds his academic abilities and commitment tested by the various new lecturers, individuals and happenings they encounter from time to time. He then begins to deal with the stress of meeting new people and building new relationships. Having tailored their expectations to the testimonies they have heard from those around them, upon resumption, freshmen find themselves having to slim-fit these dreams little by little.
For Jude (not a real name), from the faculty of law, the first shocker came as soon as he set foot in the UI gate. Having heard the “good news of UI”, he resumed with high hopes. In his words, “I heard that there are many intelligent people that are in different professions that have gone to top their fields. They are professionals. I've heard a lot of news about that. So, I expected the UI to be very beautiful. I expected it to have a lot of great facilities. But when I got here and saw the facilities, I was like, ‘Wow. So, is this it?’ And also, one guy and I walked through some parts of UI. So, we saw some of the, should I call them, lecture rooms. I was like, ‘No, no, no, this can't be it.’ They are dilapidated. And some of them are not even renovated or restructured.”
Quadri, a freshman, from the faculty of science, had UI recommended to him by his teachers. He got admitted through direct entry. Upon resuming, he also expected something huge. But now these expectations have crashed. Being a former poly student, he expected university to at least be a step up, but now with the facilities and the tedious registration process, he can no longer really tell the difference.
In the midst of all these, being allocated to Nnamdi Azikiwe Hall definitely breeds expectations. Most of the freshmen who spoke to Zik Press about the challenges they have faced in adapting to the new environment reiterated bitterly about the state of the facilities. Kingsley, a fresher from the faculty of arts, resumed expecting to have a bunk but found himself having to put his bed on the floor. Gbola, a freshman from the faculty of science, resumes to a room with no light and has to go from one to the other rooms to find a better place to charge. Another freshman, Israel, was flummoxed by the number of bedbugs and cockroaches he found in his room. Each fresher had a rather gripping tale about aspects of the hall facilities that are not working as they should, tales that some staylites will find amusing, and conditions they (the staylites) are used to.
Before the last academic session eventually ended and for some time before that, some halls of residence within the university campus had been getting one form of repairs, new facilities or the other. Kuti Hall got repainted. Bello Hall got some new bunks. In Zik Hall most especially, the JCR got renovated, toilet doors were installed, window nets were repaired and the porters lodge was also rebuilt, just like its neighbouring Katanga Republic. But in the face of the fee hike, these repairs have done very little in compensating for the other amenities that the school lacks.
On another note, most freshmen receive minimal guidance on what they were heading into. For Tomiwa, a 400-level student of the faculty of education, the orientation programmes in halls, faculties, departments and even religious societies are relatively inadequate. In his words, none of the training, advice and orientation, solicited and unsolicited, that he got from family, friends and neighbours and the ones he even got on campus were enough to prepare him for the huge shock upon resuming. Stephen, another 400-level student from the Faculty of Arts, shared this sentiment. For him, lectures and seminars are not enough. “I had to figure things out for myself,” he said. He further reiterated it is not that the individuals and bodies did not do their best in terms of getting him acclimatised as a freshman, just that experience is simply the best teacher.
And this is without mentioning academic pressure and the tough demands of the course freshmen have to deal with juggling classes and tests while still trying to have a healthy social life. Most of the freshmen who resume with very high confidence in their abilities soon find that they have to quadruple their efforts just to avoid being washed out. These combined factors take a great psychological toll on some, leading to feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. There is also the part of national politics and economy; these freshmen soon begin to see firsthand how government policies affect them. They get to witness how various governments over the years have abandoned education, leading the sector into a steady decline, a decline they can see and perceive.
In spite of these issues, most freshmen remain optimistic about the opportunities the school can offer them. In Jude’s words, “I've seen, I mean, the persons I've seen who graduated from this UI, I could say that UI is very, very excellent in their teaching, truly. And they have good policies that make them better leaders across various fields. So, I still trust them when it comes to lectures.”
