By Habeeb Olokooba
In life, everyone has that act they perpetrated and regretted after. It suffices to say that everyone has compunction; a past that pricks one’s conscience, causing remorsefulness. While some will regret at the instance of the act, forget and move on; it will rue some till the very end of their lives.
My name is Hakima. Well, before you judge, hold on and hear from me first.
The freedom and the change of environment were gleaming, the chance to explore things without being checked was blooming. As a new University student who just graduated from secondary school, the kind of liberation I felt was literally the biggest thing that contributed to my awful performance.
I am from a family that won’t make me suffer a thing. I don’t know what wealth means to you but I have the best of family as well enjoy the best of life while growing. I attended the best of schools and lived a ‘get-inside’ lifestyle throughout. My adventure to Sokoto is a voyage into a new beginning, exposed to the world out of the four walls of my father’s glass house in Abeokuta. I was to leave everything behind for a small apartment in Shama village in Sokoto.
My academic cripples all began less than a week ago when I arrived at Usmanu Danfodiyo in the confirmation hall. I met a guy who got my number and before the dusk morphed into dawn, we started chatting. In the first place, it was something I found very unusual and uncomfortable because I was not exposed to such a life. Weeks passed, and I realized that it’s normal here; being someone’s girlfriend and having a boyfriend is normal in university.
Baki (the guy) and I got along well and as a sharp guy, he made advances and made his intentions known that he wanted to date me. I liked him and would have bade him a yes if we talked about it physically. But being online, my friends helped me well in playing the “hard to get” game and as instructed, I told Baki, “I don’t even know you that well. I think we should talk about this later,” I said.
But my wait wasn’t that long, I went to him with open arms after a week of ghosting him. But then, I should have known I had a problem but I wasn’t seeing it. I thought I liked Baki but then I got obsessed.
Baki and I started our relationship. He was the sweetest I ever had. Ever caring, buying me gifts, taking my matters as his own. All this made me fall more for him. I thought I loved him just the same way he did to me. We barely even had fights, until this unforgettable day!
A friend of mine sent me a video from my acclaimed boyfriend’s status with him and a girl (his real babe) who was celebrating a birthday. I could hardly view that status but I had to struggle to see the end of the romantic quotes and heavy birthday wishes which melted my heart. My heartbeat increased and I felt betrayal. Still, I couldn’t believe it. I was kin to seeing things with my own eyes. I asked around and was informed the girl lived at the FBI — one of the hostels in UDUS.
I called Baki one night, around 9:30 pm. He usually claimed he would have retired to his hostel. And as usual when I asked him where he was, “In my room of course. Where would I be by this time of the night?” He fired.
Hung up like I believed. But headed straight to the FBI hotel, where I caught my mealy-mouthed Baki making reassurance promises to Aisha, the girl he posted on her birthday. I returned to my hostel in tears. Blocked his line, but I couldn’t clear my head.
Breakfast was well served and exams started two days after the incident. I read a lot but my mind was somewhere else due to the pains in my heart. I lost all the charm to pass my courses within a short period and ended up with a 1.43 average grade point.
Moral lesson: You are in the university for a purpose. You have freedom, yes! But you see that freedom can put you in academic trouble. You need consistency and self-discipline to attain the great height here. I lost my first dance cause I neglected the discipline from home. And now I bear greatly, the consequences of the lies I allowed myself to be told.
Editor’s note: all the names and the settings in this story are fictional, aimed to protect the subjects involved.
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