By Taofeeq Imam
It was on Thursday. The hellish sun in the City of Caliphate was at its sharp end. Students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto could be seen scampering to shades to escape the infernal treatment of the sun.
Bello Imran sat under the shade with a plastic table on his front at the Hostel Mini Mart, watching and praying for a customer to approach him_at least to get a little amount for his daily meal.
The 200-level student of Political Science and Point of Sale(POS) attendant said juggling academic activities and his POS business has been a headache, but that is all he has done to fend for himself on the campus ever since got admission in UDUS.
“It isn’t somehow easy but I have to survive since it has been my determination from the scratch,”he Imran said.
“This has been my side hustle for the past two years now which has never affected my primary assignment. Apart from taking home a token, I find it now part and parcel of me and still my results are presentable.”
Imran used to in the night, hustle in the evening but, as a determined and passionate entrepreneur, he has been enduring the insufferable condition. Adding that he never imagined partnering with anybody in the business.
“Education fights and kills illiteracy not poverty, side hustle is something most students must have in mind. I consider the business as my skills rather than pursuing just a degree.”
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Just like Imran, Bello Mukhtar is another student entrepreneur on campus.
However, the hustle has taken a huge toll on his academic performances until he resorted to creating balance for the two.
The 400-level student of Linguistics who owns a Cyber Cafe said he hardly has time to read while starting the business at 100-level.
“Juggling both academic and side hustle was hard but after discovering myself I read , study and hustle at the most convenient time.”
“Side hustle once affected me academically not until I discovered myself and as my level of maturity increases, I tried to focus on both effectively.”
“I can’t get all i need from my parents at a time so going for an alternative means was a go area for me as a student.”
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In an interview with a senior lecturer at Faculty of Education Dr S. Y Tsagem said juggling both academic activities and entrepreneurship can adversely affect each other if the student gives priority to one over another.
He said a conducive balanced atmosphere should be created for both activities.
“This is for the fact that as entrepreneurship needs time, commitment and dedication, so do academics also. The crux is where the individual (in this instance, the student) gives priority to one over the other. Whichever one is accorded much time, energy, dedication and general importance, will definitely thrive more than the other.”
He however commended the students who engaged in both activities following the economic downturn bedeviling the progress of Nigeria.
“If a student is intelligent, hardworking and dedicated to his studies, entrepreneurship will not negatively affect his academics much. Combining the two is possible, as proven by others, but one needs to look inward and be truthful to himself about the whole process,”he added.