Quite a lot has happened this year alone, and that's owing largely to the fact that I graduated this year. In other words, there have been a lot of happenings just to become a graduate. And, yet again, here I am to share another one: my induction into the Nigerian Society of Engineers.
I am not sure of the professions that hold this kind of event or ceremony, but I know of only medical and engineering students inducted into their professional bodies. Recently, though, I heard about computer engineering students having a similar thing. Nonetheless, it's fundamentally a registration to be a part of the professional body, that is, a member. "Induction" is only a fancy name for it. And there is also some ceremony to commemorate it.
Of course, we had to go through five years of study and a cumulative one year of industrial training (which is somehow embedded into the five years of study) to be eligible for the membership title. Pardon me, it's specifically a "graduate membership." Apparently, there is a difference. But you know how it is these days; we had to pay a huge sum of money for it. My school, which I do not trust, charged us ₦35,000 ($47).
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After waiting a long time for it, the day finally came for us to be referred to as "engineers." Last Thursday, the 1st of June, happened to be that day.
Unfortunately for us, it had to be at the same time when the economy took yet another big hit to its stability. Fuel subsidies were announced to be removed, spiking the cost of petrol everywhere and multiplying it by about three times. That, in turn, affected so many other things, especially my plans for the event.
I planned to drive all the way back to school from home for it, as I wasn't around the school at that time, for certain reasons like convenience and comfort—and also because I love to drive. Somehow, driving clears my head and keeps me focused, unless it has to go on for too long; I'd be too weary and hungry, which I do not enjoy. But this new problem in the country made me contemplate the idea.
I debunked the idea of taking a car along—my parents' car, of course. But then, my mother advised and reminded me about the convenience, comfort, and necessary errands I would be able to run if I took the car along. And so I did. It would be way easier for us all—my friends and I—to zoom in and out of school with our luggage and food. Yes, food, because we were going to enjoy that large sum of money we paid for the ceremony.
For some reason, we arrived late at the event. It's mostly what happens when you're not going to an event solo and everyone else has different dress-up rates. And when we got there, we couldn't resist taking photos to document the moment. We didn't really care that we were late.
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When we got in, however, it turned out that our department's space had been taken up by the lecturers, and then we had to manage with the other departments in the College of Engineering being inducted that day too. What nonsense!
As class governor, I complained about it and requested that we get our space. It was our event, after all. And so, we got our own seats. By the way, there were only five departments: agriculture and bio-resources engineering, civil engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, and mine, mechatronics engineering.
Not long after we settled down, we had our "induction materials" handed to us. They were the mufflers, helmets, and the order of the program and college yearbook. The helmet, however, was a puzzle in disguise.
The helmet required assembly. We weren't given instructions or shown how to put it all together, and we were just left to figure it out ourselves. We spent over 30 minutes trying to figure it out and get it fitted on our heads.
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The program continued. We had many engineers and professors come to say one or two things, which were mainly to enlighten us about the world ahead and what to look forward to. In between, as well, there were awards given to academically outstanding students. I did very well for myself, but I wasn't in that category of "outstanding."
Eventually, after the long wait, we had item 7 (refreshments and food) handed to us. It wasn't a cogent part of the ceremony, but it was very important to us as we paid for it, so we had to get it by thunder by fire.
The program didn't last too long, as we got in late, and then we all went outside to be received by our many friends and family that had come to join us to celebrate many years of hard work and resilience to achieve this feat. And also, take more and more photos. What many of us had forgotten was that an ambush was to follow.
The thing is, as undergraduates, the sound of celebrations like this meant one thing in particular: the surplus availability of food. Yes, apparently, food is super important to students. And, knowing that parents would likely want to commemorate the event by bringing a lot of food, there were a lot of undergraduate students storming the vicinity. We also did that in our time, so we weren't surprised anyway.
We maneuvered our way around them all. Some of us that did have food to share did share, and the rest of us that didn't hid like bats and ran away as quickly as we could. Thanks to the vehicle I brought along, that wasn't too difficult to do.
It was quite an experience and a memorable day for us all. I received more congratulations than I had ever gotten before for it. Apparently, being an "engineer" looks good. I bless God for that grace to be able to get there. Now, we move on to bigger things from here. Thank you for reading.