Life as a fresher in a private university..

Today I decided to share with you what it feels like to be in a private university in Nigeria.

An average student would prefer to be in a federal or state university( public university) than to be in a private university because of the restriction. To me, private universities are glorified secondary schools because they’re extra strict.

I’m an 100LEVEL student of Caleb University, Lagos. I actually had my primary and secondary school education in Lagos. One thing I’m sure of is that I won’t serve in Lagos, which I really like. For some awkward reason, I would love to serve in the North, Bauchi or Adamawa to be precise.

Back to my story, so I never wanted to school in a private university because of the kind of lifestyle I had in secondary school. I was kind of a nerd, not really a nerd tho but I wasn’t opportune to do most of the things an average teenager does. So I wanted freedom. I wanted a place where I’ll be free to explore and not being locked up in a place. When I wrote UTME (Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, which is a compulsory exam you must write before you can be admitted into any university in Nigeria.), I chose University Of Ilorin as my first choice and Lagos State University as my second choice. I still don’t know why I chose UNILORIN because my state of origin doesn’t even fall under their catchment area and UNILORIN is kind of competitive.

The main point is that I found myself in a private university ☺️. The rules were looking weird to me at first. No trousers, no jeans, no straight skirt, no glass items, no fork, no off shoulder/ cold shoulder clothes, your skirt/dress must be above kneel length e.t.c... It’s just an endless list 😂👩‍🦼. The funny fact is that I had to return my clothes home including the one I was wearing the one I was wearing because they had to search my stuffs for contrabands before allowing me into the room. The dress code wasn’t a big deal for me because I really don’t wear trousers, not because of religious stuffs or anything but I don’t just feel comfortable in it (it gives me heat rashes on my laps🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ and I like something free... maybe a Palazzo or a boyfriend jeans but definitely not a skinny jeans☺️) and also my skirts in secondary school were flare skirts just that mine was extra short. I even had to wear pantyhose under it. So I was okay with the dress code but for an average teenager that rule is not really favorable.

Then there’s this rule in my school, “THE 7:00PM RULE”... which states that, “No student, either male or female must be found with the opposite sex once it’s 7:00pm”☺️☺️. At first I didn’t see any big deal in it because “what am I looking for 😂😂😂😹” but it got to an extent that I started feeling uncomfortable. Once it’s 7:00pm, you’ll be seeing security guards everywhere and their patrol vehicle and this ghost rider 😂💔💔 looking for offenders and once you’re caught, they’ll take you to gate. ( Don’t ask me what they’re doing there, I’ve never been there 👩‍🦼👩‍🦼😂). These offenders may not even be those that broke the 7:00pm rule because once they catch you without a nose mask, you’re automatically an offender 😂😂... that’s another rule.

So I feel uncomfortable seeing security guards everywhere like we’re in primary school. I feel like it’s actually something they have to do because unlike public universities, they’re responsible for whatever happens to their students and the school would not love their name to be dragged in the mud.

Another aspect is the feeding... things are kinda expensive in my school and you’ll have to buy food to survive because we’re not allowed to cook and I spend averagely N1000 per day. Buying food is one thing, queuing to get ticket is another thing and if you don’t have cash in that school... Omo 😂😂💔 because sometimes the ATM doesn’t dispense and before you can use POS to get food, you’ll have to queue. Unlike most private universities, our feeding allowance is not part of our school fees, so you basically have to feed yourself.

To be honest, Caleb University is not really as strict as some private universities in Nigeria and it’s not really stressful but the school can be sometimes frustrating but there’s nothing I can do.

So this is just a summary of what it feels like to be in a private university( Caleb University to be precise.) I would really love to write more because I have a lot to share with you’ll but I wouldn’t want my post to be too lengthy so you won’t get tired of reading it. If you want me to drop a part two of this, let me know in the comment section.

I wish you an amazing week and remember "No dream is ever too big, and no dreamer too small".

XOXO🥺❤️