By Habeeb Olokooba
Dear friends, I know it’s been a tough task. Passing through the gory adventures of both tension and sleepless nights. From passing the JAMB examination to the thousands of times you were checking your caps down to the elated and unforgettable moment you were finally given admission. What about how you traveled thousands of miles to get smiles but getting your confirmation became war inside the four-walls of the Fate-deciding ETF 3 as you realized even dreams have been changed.
You remembered– how UDUS changed your fate from Medicine to primary education and Law to Islamic Studies. ‘UDUS is a destiny changer’– you echoed. Not that those courses are not good, but that was not what you opted for– the reason you keep wandering and wondering. Regardless, now that you’ve been confirmed, I must welcome you to the most peaceful university in Nigeria. You are welcome to freedom, the freedom that could either set you free or set you in a life shackles you might not be able to unbind.
I say welcome to a lifestyle that leaves you to independent decisions; welcome to freedom to pass and fail in a bigger and wider world. I will say welcome to the captivity and libration world: away from the restraints you encountered in the secondary school ward. Here, no one is pacifying anyone for doing what they want to do, so far you don’t flaunt the school rules. Here is the freedom you’ve been longing for; and at the same time: the captivity you’ve been dying for; except if you’re a warrior that brought nothing and wishes to leave without something.
Else the course you are doing demands it. No more uniforms as required in your respective high schools– maybe not law and other few courses; no one flogs anyone for not attending classes. But just one thing. When you are failing you will know you are falling off tracks and fading of progress like tattered yellow cloth that is turning white. And remember we are the reflection of the homes we descend from: either good or bad, you are passing a message in all that you do.
Failure, they say: it is a gradual process. Since you are the owner of your own pastime and the justice of your fate, you have the right to use it just the way you like. You can choose to waste it or be productive with it. Though the latter is of greater benefit but you’re the umpire– the decision is yours.
Yes, the university is multi-accommodative; she accommodates whatever you want to be but will not allow you tarnish her golden image. You can let the ‘Morroconians’ influence you by luring you into wasting your time and energy or you join those night class warriors, till the daybreak goons, or any other reading caucus. Morocco, diligence and unseriousness are all pregnant women that have something to give birth. By the way, I heard that ‘morocco’ boosts GP! Sigh, well, feel free to show us your GP when its result shows.
This piece is neither to scare nor to deprive you from other resourceful packages, UDUS has in stock for you. It’s for you to do the right things and make hay while the sun is still shining. Pass the University and allow it to pass you. It’s good to be a serious student if the primary assignment is going well. But never stoop to being a triangle student that only sees University as a degree-oriented program and nothing more. Brethren, if you’re wise there is a lot to learn and earn as a student.
I could recall while departing from Ilorin to Sokoto for the first time. Dad called me to feed my heart. He said, “Ibikunle, make sure you touch all the four walls the university has. Explore your new world positively. Just make sure it doesn’t affect your academics.”
Then, I attached no meanings to such golden words but as time passed by, I got a grasp of what that meant and this has been impacting me positively.
I therefore implore you to live a beautiful life you will always remember and be proud of. Make sure you explore, have fun as all works and no play makes Jack a dull boy. But before anything else, make sure you give your all to your primary assignment and you can achieve this with the help of serious seniors. A word, they said, is enough for the wise.
Do have a blissful stay.