By Lamid Azeez
In 2018, Abdulkadir Yunus Olarewaju was admitted to study Political Science at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. His joy knew no bounds as he was grinning from ear to ear.
He can’t wait to be a university student. Series of thoughts filled his mind. He can’t help but imagine the unchecked liberty students enjoyed on campus. Although he was happy about the current development in his life, on the other hand, he understood the consequences of every action taken by the students, having graduated from the College of Education, Oro, Kwara state earlier. He therefore possessed an unquenchable thirst for knowledge.
Jiffy days on campus, he saw the habit of the students going to class often, this inclination aroused his interest to clear the doubt about where voices on the radio came from. At night, he went to a class, where he surprisingly found some students reading. He could perceive the aura of the students’ desire to excel in their academic pursuits. He, therefore, emulated the habit.
“Experience has taught me the dilemma of University, and that is why I buckle down but the students’ habitual act in reading ignited me to possess an insatiable thirst for knowledge,” Abdulkadir said.
In his faculty, it had almost become a settled norm that nobody can bag first-class honors since the establishment of the department of political science. Not until recently, did they produce a first-class graduate.
This stuck his heart to linger in the hope of probability on the attainment of the feat but he never got discouraged, nor did he stop his passion for reading. He believed, with hard work and prayer, nothing is impossible. He, therefore, committed himself to sleepless nights(reading till day break, TDB)
, coupled with constant reading, and battled the mosquitoes along with the injected breeze. This however paid him in his 100 level results, he was surprised to find himself in the first-class raider.
“I was determined, I know irrespective of the challenges, the means will justify the end. Those restless nights, days, and months sum up to bring me the best of results,” He recounted.
Poor Reading Culture
In January 2023, the federal government of Nigeria, in an event organized by The National Library of Nigeria, promised to take reading to the hinterland.
It was a session held in Abuja tagged “Readership promotion campaign” and among the dignitaries of the event was Senator Shehu Sani. In his remark, made it clear that Nigeria’s reading culture had retrogressed compared to ancient times. He pointed to the fact that the young people of today are more interested in social media. They forget that in order to perform well in their intellectual activities. However, to excel, they must emulate the habit of reading. In his words,
“Reading culture in Nigeria has deteriorated, it is no longer what it used to be in ‘the 80s, 70s, 60s, and 50s,” He said
People should understand that what you read becomes a quota in one’s sea of knowledge, one would have nothing to dissipate intellectually without reading,” Senator Sheu explained.
UDUS: The Home of Readers
Gbolahan Badru was an avid reader who read thirteen hours every day. He is a 200-level law student at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
Gbolahan held his belief in the philosophical thought that the key to changing the course of life is education. He, therefore, took reading as his priority right from home. He subscribed to the saying that you learn new things if you read good books.
“Reading is my hobby. I will never feel comfortable if I don’t read for a day. I read for thirteen hours every day. Although it changes sometimes but not often,” He explained
According to him,the main reason he indulged in reading was to seduce the labor market after his graduation. He did not want to seek a job but the job should rather seek for him. He believed commitment and diligence would distinguish him from lawyers deteriorating the street. He believed being the best pays.
“Most of our universities are chunking out graduates who can’t even contribute to national development, not to talk of the global. I have decided not to contribute to the ugly quota. I have decided to seduce the labor market,” He continued.
He then strengthened his opinion that leaving family behind to set forth on a path with unknown riddles and obstacles influenced him to be subjected to reading. He yearned to free himself from the shackles of ignorance.
The 100-kilometer journey from Lagos down here should be enough to serve as my reason for being a relentless reader,” Gbolahan concluded.
The reading habit of the students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, is a reflection of the school’s motto ‘Iqra’, an Arabic term which means ‘read.’
100 Level First Semester Turned Me Good
Sidiq Salamat Bobonkiri is known among students to be a vivacious reader. She is a 200-level Education Biology Student. Oftentimes, Salamat would be found in the class reading. Her spot was A33, a class at the faculty of Arabic and Islamic study. She always sits at the far edge of the first seat in the class. She would cover her face and read silently; she hardly leaves the class except for the time of salat. Salamat was not like this before until her first-semester 100-level results
As a new student, she believed in self-ability. The mentality of secondary school on “If you write you pass” was her erroneous belief. How ignorant she was about the difference in the university system, ignorant of the fact that there are techniques to answering university questions. In the end her results shocked her.
“I was naive. I thought I could just do it the secondary school way, well I was humbled by my UG1 first semester results,” Salamat explained.
Salamat learned from her mistake, by reading tirelessly to right the wrong. And she didn’t take tutorials with levity. She engaged, consulted, and redefined herself. This effort later merited her into becoming one of the best students in her department.
“Consultation with the senior colleagues redefined me, I was almost lost in the past. Well alhamdulillah for the improvement,” she concluded.