By: Toriola Adedayo

This is not an article on politics, one to commemorate, judge, nor is it propaganda; rather, it is just a quick drift for us to forget the insistent “rogbodiyan” for a while, and instead chat like old pals. While at it, we get to ask ourselves some serious questions.

For some of us, we really can’t help but ask ourselves if we have not really wasted our time coming to this part of the world (especially if you fall into the “sapa” category of Nigeria). I mean, the irony of spending 4 years and probably more, studying Philosophy, and you get to ask yourself, “where exactly is the Logic!” The plight some students carry around finding answers to the age-long question of “What exactly do I do with this degree?” desperately needs answers. A touch of if this is really useless is thus mixing with the pain of acceptance of the unknown.

Well, that is another “koko iwe iroyin”* you will have to watch out for in another epistle of “Pals On Camp.” For the meantime, let’s quickly dive into the sarcasm of life on camp (which is where it gets intense).

A random fresher will really be swayed by how much is going on in this next world. The stalite this, the fresher’s that, not to forget the faculty’s thisthat. For once, the questions really need to start rolling in at this point. If we are told that the category of the unserious are those that attend every event on camp, whose CGPA barks at them, and yet we are still told to SOCIALISE so as not to be a snake on the mountain on campus, we get to ask ourselves…..”why exactly are they confusing us? Which exactly do we do?!”

It seems quite ironic actually, but here is the real gist, do you have to really attend every programme, slay every party, take a part in every gyration, or scatter every occasion with the latest outfit? You know as well as I do that there is absolutely no need for those. Now this is not telling you to “avoid them all,” but instead, why not “utilise them more”.

As students who run on an almost free train, we really have to cut down and restrategise; come to think of it, it wouldn’t really matter if that party misses your presence when that leadership is more essential. It really seems simple and funny, but it is indeed effective.

For instance, a recent discovery by SciSpace, an online statistics website, revealed that most students spend an average of 6-8 hrs everyday surfing the internet; this simply tells us that there is more we could do with our time than paying our tithes of time to social media.

In essence, the average Ade could just use this strategy — academics first, extra-curriculars second. That is, it wouldn’t really matter how much of a guru at party or gyration you are if you fail to be responsive to what constitutes your presence on campus (academics).

Really, there is the need for us as students to place priorities first. You are not on compulsion to attend everything nor ignore all; but more importantly, we must be capable of asking ourselves questions that creatively criticizes and checkmates our choices. And we should ensure we keep the extra as extras.

This is a contributor piece.