The Untold Frustration of Nigerian Undergraduates in Public Universities

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In the year 2014, I took one of the most difficult exams that every Nigerian student hopes to pass before being admitted to a university. JAMB is an acronym for Joint Admission and Matriculation Board and is similar to the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) taken by students in India and the Gaokao test taken by high school students in China. The highest possible score in the exams is 400, and the minimum cut-off point is 180 for less competitive universities; however, these requirements may be higher for more competitive institutions. 

Students who score 250 points or higher are typically considered geniuses and will be considered for their desired courses at Nigerian universities. That is not always the case, however. Admission to prominent public universities in Nigeria requires more than just good grades; there are several other factors that universities consider when deciding who to admit. In a country as diverse as Nigeria, with over 300 spoken dialects and six distinct geopolitical divisions, where you come from is a major determinant of whether or not you will be admitted to a university.

To put it into context, it is easier to gain admission to a state university in your home state. Likewise, it is easier to gain admission to a federal university in the geopolitical region in which your state is located. Other factors include parental or family connections, luck, and bribery/corruption. These other factors can have a significant impact on one's chances of admission, and as a result, many deserving and hardworking Nigerian students are denied admission due to system rot. I was a victim of these circumstances, and despite passing all of my exams, it took me four years after graduating from high school to get into university.

In 2019, I was finally admitted to study Insurance at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, also known as ABU, which is the largest, oldest, and most prominent university in Northern Nigeria. My lifelong dream of sitting in the same classrooms and walking through the same halls as most prominent Nigerian leaders and politicians came true. But that wasn't the end of it; my arrival at the university was marked by a three-month-long industrial strike by the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, also known as ASUU.

The Academic staff union of Nigerian universities are perceived by the Nigerian government as the most rebellious among all trade unions in Nigeria and their most efficient mechanism is usually an industrial strike action. Luckily enough, my freshman year went well and undisrupted, I studied hard and emerged as the best in my faculty, I had straight A’s and my ambition was to finish as the best-graduating student in the whole university. Unfortunately, ASUU struck again in my second year, This time Nigerian students spent the whole Academic session at home.

The covid19 lockdown exacerbated the situation because the government made no significant effort to resolve the feud. Students who had travelled from other parts of Nigeria had to return home only two months after starting university. There were no online classes, and most students had given up on education.

ASUU fought for better welfare and working conditions for university lecturers, as well as better learning conditions for students and increased funding for Nigerian universities. Because of the protracted strike, there was an increase in the number of young Nigerian youths engaging in cybercrime, and when school eventually resumed in 2021, everything changed; students were now using the latest gadgets, wearing designer clothes, and some even driving exotic cars. They had all of these luxuries despite having no verifiable business or skill. 

Finding a job in a young country like Nigeria can be difficult due to its highly competitive job market; the unemployment rate as of 2022 was 33%, implying that many people are struggling to make ends meet. However, big tech companies and global investment banks like Google, Microsoft, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Jefferies were increasingly hiring young and bright African students for summer internships. Thousands of Nigerian students apply for these opportunities, so they must be at the top of their game in terms of their knowledge and abilities.

Some students were able to take advantage of the ASUU strike's mandatory holiday breaks to complete internships, take online courses, and learn more ahead of the application season, but this is only a small percentage of the thousands of students enrolled in Nigerian universities. I was fortunate to be one of the few because I surrounded myself with friends like myself who were ambitious.

In 2021, I completed my second year and began my third year in 2022. ASUU struck again, only two months after resuming. I wasn't bothered because I was preparing for the CFA Research Challenge as a representative from my university at the time. I had no idea the strike would last so long after we finished our Research Challenge competition. However, luck kept coming my way, and I was chosen to intern with the World Bank Treasury for the summer of 2022.

My journey may appear simple and pleasant, but it was the result of many sleepless nights, countless zoom meetings, and hundreds of online courses that I took and participated in. Despite my gratitude, I share the frustrations of the majority of Nigerian students. In Nigeria, students typically return to campus three weeks after resumption because parents must hustle to gather funds to purchase groceries, foodstuffs, and provisions for their children. When the strike was announced, many students left their food and groceries behind, hoping that the strike would be called off soon. They had no idea the strike would last for nearly 9 months; and like a movie, another academic session was squandered. Students who rented accommodation off campus didn't get the opportunity to enjoy the service they paid for. During the strike, I received calls from my classmates expressing their frustration with the situation of things in the country. They didn't know what else to do.

Life became tougher for the young scammers after the arrest of popular Nigerian Instagram influencer Hushpuppi, the lucrativeness of cybercrime suffered, and participating students were forced to engage in a variety of trades to survive. It was a difficult time for Nigerian students; imagine remaining at the same level of education for more than two years without any carryovers. We couldn't start businesses because we didn't know when the strike would end; our education, careers and future were caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. We struggled with a sense of impending doom as we watched our privileged peers graduate from private universities. Most private organisations would only hire entry-level graduates if they are below the age of 27 and many of us were already running short of time.

It felt like being average was a crime; if our parents were wealthy, we could have been flown to the best universities in the world to study, just like our politicians' children. Unfortunately, our fate was different, and to make matters worse, we struggled to enjoy the advantages of the common man. When school resumes after a long strike, most students' grades fall, indicating a loss of interest in education. 

Students with wealthy parents were transferred to private universities. While students like me with high hopes of performing exceptionally well academically, our dreams were dashed. We were the victims in the fight between the lecturers and the government; our school ID cards graduated before us, and we spent seven years studying a four-year course with little hope of finding work after graduation.

Following the completion of my summer internship at the World Bank Treasury, I was offered a position as a junior analyst. I couldn't risk losing this opportunity by remaining in an uncertain educational system. I made the risky decision to travel to Togo to finish my Bachelor's degree at a private bilingual university.

I'm still disappointed that I didn't graduate as the best overall student at my dream university. But I feel even worse when I remember that there are thousands of students like me who are still trapped in this cycle of frustration. My only wish for them is that they never grow tired of dreaming.