By: Tolulope Ayeye
The commencement of the one month warning strike by ASUU has brought forth a lot of reactions from students; freshers, stallites and finalists alike. There have been different reactions to this recent news from students across campuses in Nigeria, some have been disappointed, some, indifferent and some others are happy at the commencement of the ASUU strike. Notwithstanding opinion and reactions to the strike, students already understand the fact that, they have very little or no say on when or how the strike ends.
This simply means that we all have a lecture free month or a little less to do whatever we want. We could either sleep all day, party all week, eat all day or make ample and reasonable use of our time. The strike is meant to go on for a month and while a month might seem small, a lot of things can be done within a month, and a lot of self-development can also be made during this month dedicated to ASUU strike.
A month might seem little a time to achieve so much, regardless, a lot can still be done under a month. With the announcement of the strike, I’ve heard different students express their gratitude, because it’s barely three weeks into the school resumption and they already felt lost. You could get ahead in those particular academic courses you felt will give a tough time during the semester.
It’s not enough to take a break because lecturers are on a strike, classes had started, and it wouldn’t be wise to just relax. Do well to find a solid ground for this semester. Of course, I do not expect you read yourselves away when classes aren’t really going on. You could also learn a skill; I am sure this isn’t the first time you have heard these words ‘learn a skill’. You have heard it so much that you probably do not even know the importance anymore.
In a country like Nigeria, where the unemployment rate keeps increasing, the youths, most especially, seem to be turning more into entrepreneurship. Well, it is only reasonable that you learn a skill with every chance that you get, most importantly, if you haven’t learnt one before. If you had previously learnt any, you could develop on that skill or learn another as no amount of skills learnt is too much.
Gone are those days where we limit the idea of skills to vocational works, like sewing, hairdressing, painting and the likes. Now, a skill could as well be in form of copywriting, graphic designing, content creation and many other things that requires the use of technology. With the trend of technology, it is even more advisable to learn a skill to develop your technical know-how.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. While it is advisable to venture into this warning month with a productive mind and productive intentions, we still have to remember to sit back relax and live life (well, as much life as is appropriate to live in a month). Live life; go to that party, visit those friends, sleep. Yes, have enough of rest because rest is very essential. You have to remember that we can’t work too hard and we can’t relax too hard, so we have to make it balanced one. To make it balanced, have enough time for everything you plan on doing for this month by having a schedule.
A schedule may seem unnecessary to some, but it is very important to make a plan, as a lot of things could be done under a month. You could party all through the strike, you could sleep and lazy around, you could push yourself beyond limits and you could feel less fulfilled. There’s no better way to make ample use of your time than to draw out a plan. You could map out a plan for the whole month at inception or you could map it out weekly or daily. You just have to do what works for you.
Remember, you could learn a skill, read a book and find your best author, and you could also build a solid foundation for that course rumored to be the hardest. I don’t want to sound like a motivational speaker, but you could do so much within a month, if you have a desire to.
