Gifted hands (part II) The strike!!

Repent! Repent! For the kingdom of God is at hand! (just like John the baptist, crying in the wilderness….lol!) These words from a group of enthusiastic students,standing in front of our hall of residence.  Pretty much excited to share their faith and invite everyone to fellowship with them. We  had various faith based groups on campus-CASOR, CU, ASF, BSF, NCF, Abiding word, etc.  You name it! These words were the alarm clock that woke most students up each morning at 0400am.

Bathrooms were found at  both ends of the hall way. God bless you, if there was no power supply and you needed to shower in the morning, for your early am classes. All those superstitious  scary stories of Lady koi koi; we literally believed them, lol!

How can I forget our hall mummies?  Let me guess that some of my readers are wondering what I mean by “hall mummy”. Apparently, if you belonged to any fellowship on campus, you are automatically assigned to someone (usually a senior) who acts like a  guardian aka hall mummy. It’s pretty cool having one until , you’re hear that knock on your door in the wee hours of morning. That “knock” meant that you need to gather some where with others for morning prayers, led by your hall mummy. The wee hours is when sleep is beautiful, like who wants to be up at 0400am praying ?

On the contrary,  during final exams, students showed up for prayers early!  Some will volunteer to wake others up. Desperate students eager to ace their exam. We prayed for everything, lol!- exam dates to be rescheduled, lecturers to resign ( the difficult ones), prayed to displace a difficult roommate, etc.. What’s interesting is that , those prayers worked! We even prayed for strikes to be called off! LOL!

The strike! Yes! The great and dreaded ASUU strike! Let me tell you about this strike.  If you are  a  bona-fide student of any government owned university in Nigeria, it is impossible to forget about the ASUU strike (excluding the private universities).

Here is the deal, in order to save yourself a cardiac arrest or dissapointment, here is my advice, if your course of interest is a 4 year program, you are advised to add 2 to 3 years, because, this ASUU strike is destined to happen. When it does, you might stay  home for as,long as, it is resolved. This is the gospel truth…lol

In case you’re still wondering what this strike is all about.  In my own words,

 

“The ASUU strike is the weapon of mass destruction, used by the Senior Staffed Lecturers, of any government owned university in Nigeria, to ask the government, for incentives and increase in monthly salary, or for overdue unpaid salary”

I use the phrase “weapon of mass destruction” because this strike destabilizes the government, and leaves them no choice but to pay up!

Usually, it starts with series of meetings- the Federal government versus ASUU. Honestly, this meeting feels like the “clash of the titans” battling on the field of education, lol!

Then, rumors of warning strike on campus. Warning strike that last for at least 3 days, followed by another meeting, then a strike!

Students are usually notified via notice boards, placed in strategic locations. Classrooms are locked, and students living on campus are given few hours to go home.

Going home in such occasions can be bitter-sweet. There may not be enough money for immediate travel. Most students have to figure out how much luggage to travel with (technically, no one knows how long the strike will last), where to leave the rest of your luggage because you are not allowed to leave them in the dorms. At this time, the motor parks are flooded with students, chattering in loud voices, exchanging pleasantries and bidding their friends farewell. One can sense the excitement in the air.

Lots of miracles take place during the strike  lol! Miracles of weddings , pregnancies, engagements, some might change school, some go on spontaneous vacations abroad, etc

On one of such long strikes,   this Nigerian chic decided to  register in a sewing institute, to officially become certified, as a fashion designer. It sounds exciting and looks like my father will be happy to support, right? Keep in mind  that I was raised in a Nigerian household with a dad who is very traditional, and believes that anything asides from school, is the devil, lol!

This Nigerian chic had to come up with a plan-this plan that stirred the wheels of my life through a journey, that I never imagined, most importantly, I don’t regret!

Y’all want to know what this plan was?????????

……to be continued……

 

 

Thanks for viewing,

this Nigerian chic ♥♥♥♥♥

 

Glossary 

Lady koi koi- the ghost of a female teacher known for wearing heels. Apparently, she comes out when the lights are off.

ASUU- Academic Staff Union of Universities

 

Photo credit: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=asuu+strike+animation&FORM=HDRSC2