Well, we've all suffered in school, but if you haven't experienced or never stayed in a school area with no light for over three years, my dear, you didn't suffer.
Well, throughout my stay in school, I lived alone, I love my privacy a lot.....no roommate, no gist partner, just me, even with that, I have a lot of people who still come by....mostly to sleep, but that's a story for another day. Most of the time, at night, I would just be staring at the ceiling sweating, and praying for the breeze to just blow. I can't remember ever praying for the so-called PHCN to bring light. I had a fan in my room, and the only thing it did was to add to the beauty of my room and occupy space. Over three years, not even a one minute light.
I usually wake up every day by 4:50am. Well, that was the time I set my alarm to ring. I'd say my prayers for about ten minutes, then drag myself out of bed, cause I need to run to the tap to fetch water before the tank stops dispensing water. Water is a luxury then, it's either you go early to the tap, or go to the next tap which is about few miles away, and there you will have to queue for hours, if you can't go for that, then there's a hostel about few poles away, we call them them C girls I don't know why, but it happened that only females occupy the whole building. And when you get there, you'd have to beg them while they abuse and make fun of you before finally giving you a chance to just fetch a bucket.
But no matter what, as long as I know I would be going to school on that day, I am always done and ready latest by 6:30am. Lectures start by 7am, and I had to get to the lecture hall early so as to secure the front seat. There are times those who stay in school hostels would have arrived very early and even put their bags on empty seats to secure space for their friends coming from town or far distance, and you'd expect some of us that also came early to occupy the back seat or even stand throughout the lecture. It was always the survival of the sharpest. If you sit at the back, you might not hear anything the lecturer teaches and even the attendance sheet might not get to you.
There's this lecturer of mine, I’ll never forget him, he taught me for four years, and you know why I can't forget him, he only comes to the class twice in a semester, the first time he came in and said, “Good morning class. Today, we will be treating the whole course.” And just like that, he would open his textbook and start rushing things, he would even skip major parts, there's no room for questions, he would say, "You should’ve learned that in secondary school.” I can't help but wonder how we were also told in secondary school back then that, "you will be taught more better on it when you get to higher institution." That same higher institution is telling us we've been taught in secondary school. That same day, he would fix a date for his test, and that is the second and last time you will see him in the class for that semester.
There was this lecturer who taught us practical as well, most of our courses have practical aspects, and we have this one lecturer who's solely in charge of that, just practicals. And we have him every single day. Out of his three hours, he would use over two hours to tell us about his family or engage us in topics regarding marriage or even politics, sometimes he would discuss how he has been having a rough day and all. And at the end of the day, I’d drag my tired body back to my hostel. I love to cook but most of the time, I'd just settle for garri with biscuits, that is if money dey, but during broke days, I do just enter my room, soak garri, off my clothes, stretch on the bed and by the time I have rest for a while the garri would have at least....you know na. That is what I would settle for, for the whole day, and atimes, till it's night.
And then, the issue of light. There was no electricity in the whole area. It's either we wait till it's night for the rich guys to on their generator, or we go to kiosk who do the business of pay to charge. Most of the time I take my Powerbank and phone to school, receive the first lecture and then dash out to my cafeman shop, there I would drop my phone and powerbank till am set to go home. And times, aside the pay to charge place, all other places are crime zones, including my cafeman shop, you drop whatever you are charging, look away for some seconds and before you turn back, it has disappeared. It happened to me once, my powerbank was stolen and it was painful. After that day, I always sit and guard whatever I am charging like it was my life. Not as if that guarantees anything, some sit with their belongings and still it gets stolen. But at least, that way you have yourself to blame, not a neighbor who only offered to go help you charge.
There's a field not too far from my place, it was a football field in the day time, but at night it became service center, that is where everybody goes to talk, call, chat, do vidoe calls, and browse the Internet. Service is poor, but when you get to the field, you see it running as if.......Also, people gather to gossip, to argue and all, while some are just there to get some fresh air before going into their hell/oven of a room. We all were just managing things the best way we could, it wasn't easy for anybody.
Most times when I return in to sleep, sleep wouldn't come, I would try to read but then, I have to use my phone battery wisely, sometimes I would have to get a candle along while coming in, my one and only solar lamp was stolen the very first time I place it out to charge.
There was no comfort in my hostel, nor in the school. Funny enough, I survived. Looking back now that I’m no longer a student, I just laugh, I miss then, all those add up together to build me. I learned how to spend small money for weeks, I learn to manage, I learn to guard my belongings......and all.
So, a typical day in school was stress, headache, pay for this and that, stolen phones, surprise tests, and all......
