An erstwhile insurance student of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria has quit his studies in the country to continue his studies in Togo with his life savings, saying thay he took the tough decision due to the lingering ASUU strike.
The promiscuous young man named Lukman Yusuf Alabi disclosed that in his journey to academic success in Nigeria, he has been hit three times by JAMB, and three times by ASUU. Meaning that he wrote JAMB exams thrice before gaining admission.
Despite being in his 300 level studying Insurance at a Nigerian university, the young man quit the program he was undergoing to read economics at Institute of Advanced Study of International and Strategic Relations, Lome, Togo.
He shared this news on his LinkedIn page. Read what he wrote below;
“My entrance into the university was graced with Industrial strike by the Academic Staff Union and unfortunately I have experienced two more industrial strike actions by ASUU during my university days, thereby losing two academic sessions within a space of 4 years.
“For many Nigerian students, this uncertainty of the future has caused a new type of frustration hindering our ability to make plans strategically. Many had lost valuable opportunities, others have dropped out. That’s the sad fate of thousands of Nigerian students in public universities and there seems to be no hope in sight.” – HE SAID
he continued by writing;
“It’s with deep sense of pain, courage and hope intertwined that I made the decision to transfer to Iheris university in Lome (Togo) to complete my University education. (My choice of university and decision to travel out of the country was a combination of factors including Quality, Accreditation and cost). “I feel sad that I will have to leave my lecturers with whom we have built solid relationships, My friends with whom we have unfadable memories, the environment which I call home.”
Speaking with our correspondence on this, he said;
“The main challenge I encountered was internal, I felt extremely sad that I’d have to leave my university in order to progress, I felt bad that our government couldn’t save our educational system, also been the class rep in my departmental level, many of my students see me as a motivation due to my academic standing, I felt like I had let them down. I was the president of The Ahmadu Bello University’s The investment society (TIS) and we had great plans to grow the next set of finance professionals from the north, I wanted to contest as the president of my faculty for the next session.”
Yusuf added;
“All of these thoughts were what I had to battle with. The admission process was quite seamless, I was in a strong first-class standing before the strike so I had no issues switching. In terms of finances, I took a big risk, I used up my life savings for this, but I think it’s worth it. “And the only reason I am able to afford this myself was because I saved up some money during my internship at the World bank in the United States.” Why Yusuf waited this long before transfering On why he stayed this long before making the switch, Yusuf said his fear of uncertainty informed his decision. “The main reason I waited this long was because I loved my university, also I have invested a lot in building good reputation, friendships and relationships. Anytime ASUU goes on strike, I tried to remain optimistic and hopeful, i engage in taking online courses and undergoing internships.
“Last year, I made it to the world bank Treasury at Washington DC for a 3 months internship and the expectation was that I had to graduate by August – December 2023 to stand a chance of getting back for a 2 year contract at the bank, also I have numerous other opportunities which requires me to graduate at the earliest possible time.” He added: “I have also lost hope in Nigeria’s educational system. If ASUU calls of today, there’s still no guarantee I will graduate in 2024 because if the government doesn’t fulfill ASUU’s demand, the likelihood of a future strike is imminent. I don’t want to take another risk, My ID card says I graduated in August 2022, the fear of uncertainty was my greatest reason for transferring now.”
Credit: legit Ng
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