The Nigerian university experience is full of unhinged stories and events that stay with you even years after leaving school.

We asked some University of Ilorin graduates to revisit their time in the school, and let’s just say they’re more than happy to be out of the institution. 

“My lecturer failed a whole class due to her own error” — Precious*, 20

When I was in 200L, a lecturer openly admitted to failing our entire class because she couldn’t find our test scripts. Instead of calling for a resit, she said she’d add five marks to everyone’s scores out of pity. That was my introduction to the kind of frustration that came with studying Law at Unilorin. Students can graduate with first-class honours from law school, whereas the undergraduate programme would most likely have frustrated their efforts. Yet, the faculty wonders why recent alumni want absolutely nothing to do with them. 

I honestly just want to graduate in peace and never ever have anything to do with that school again. 

“We locked ourselves indoors to avoid a cultist clash” — Wemimo*, 53

This happened in early 1997. I lived in an estate on campus,and one evening, I was outside talking to some neighbours when we saw a large crowd running through the gates. They told us a cult group was on its way to fight another nearby. Before we knew what was happening, the fight had moved into our estate.

We ran indoors, locked the doors and listened to the awful sounds of the fight all night. The police eventually arrived the next morning and arrested some of the cultists. A few weeks later, we heard they had been expelled. 

“I saw a dean slap a student” — Janet*, 33

I did both my first degree and master’s at Unilorin, so I saw my fair share of strange things. But one incident stands out.

I was on the walkway where students usually hung out  between lectures when the dean of a faculty walked up to a student and asked, “Why is your ID card not on your neck?” 

The student obviously didn’t have it on him. Before anyone could process what was happening, the dean slapped him. It was swift and resounding, silencing the atmosphere. Nobody said a word. We just stood there staring at each other in shock. This and many more make a typical day in Unilorin.

“We had to beg staff to release my friend’s ID card” — Emmanuella*, 25

Dealing with non-academic staff in Unilorin can be frustrating. I lost my ID card, and getting another one was nothing short of harrowing.

A friend followed me to the Student Affairs Office, and while we were there, a staff member seized her own ID card. We had no idea what she had done wrong, but we still had to beg to get it back. I remember leaving the office  thinking, “What kind of wahala is this?”

“A swarm of bees chased students out of the hostel” — Bimbo*, 52

Shortly after Unilorin moved some students to its permanent site in 1998, we returned from class one evening to find the new hostels covered in bees.  I’d never seen anything like it. 

There were so many bees that some students started saying it had to be a spiritual attack. Thankfully, it happened early enough in the evening for most people to escape back to the mini campus before they got stung. Some people weren’t so lucky. One of my friends was stung more than five times and had to be admitted to the hospital.

“It was missing scripts galore” — Ibrahim*, 25

The lecturers are so careless with scripts, and it’s the students who suffer for it. 

In 300L, I wrote an exam that required an extra booklet. I filled almost two pages in the second booklet, but didn’t notice anything was wrong until the results came out. My score was much lower than I anticipated, so I started asking questions. That was when I found out they never found my second booklet. 

The school didn’t offer me a solution, so my GPA took a hit. What made it worse was that it wasn’t an isolated incident. I heard of lecturers losing test scripts and assignments, while students were too scared to complain. They worried that the situation could somehow be turned against them. I was constantly frustrated for the rest of my stay in the school.

“I hid in the bushes to escape security” — Samuel*, 33

My biggest fear as an undergraduate was getting suspended or expelled. If management caught you flouting the rules, you would “wear gown,” which meant getting sent home. I’d already been expelled from another school, so I didn’t want my parents’ wahala.

One evening, I  went for a walk on campus and ran into a security guard. He demanded that I follow him so he could write me up for not having neat hair. I didn’t even argue; I just ran. I hid in some bushes and stayed there until he left. Once the coast was clear, I went straight back to my hostel, borrowed a friend’s clipper and shaved my hair.

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