7 Life lessons Unilag taught me

Uni was filled with memorable lessons for me. From having to cope with different types of people, to learning how to say no and detecting when a friendship is no longer necessary. Here is a list of 7 things I learned from uni summed up in seven stories

1. Never assume that anyone knows it all, instead believe in your own abilities: This perhaps is the most important and in fact the main reason for this write-up. Every time we had exams, we will all gather in front of the venue of the exam, usually a multipurpose hall or lecture room. While waiting for the invigilators, security personnel and concerned lecturer to come, I noticed that this became the most challenging moment of the whole exam period for me. While we were gathered, different people would start asking you questions, suggesting answers and bringing up topics you have never heard of before. At this point, you start feeling like you're ill-prepared for the exam. If care is not taken, they will project so many wrong and haphazard answers into your mind, so much that when you finally get into the exam hall, you become confused and uncertain about answers to questions that you know. By my third year, I decided to start going 10 minutes late for my exams. Guess what? that semester, I made my best GPA in Unilag.

2. Text messages are as important as phone calls: As a student leader, I had a lot of official business with lecturers, H.O.Ds and the rest. These set of people were always busy and 80% of the time will never pick your call. At first, it used to cause me despair, until they all started preaching the same gospel "if I don't pick your call, text me and I'd call you back as soon as I can". 

Text messages worked like magic, first, no one gets to shout on you via text as they would over the Phone, secondly, with text, there is proof of communication, so no one can deny something they said. You see, if they don't pick, text!

3. Friends must come with benefits: In my first year, everyone had their own clique of friends and I was not left out. Eventually, these cliques began to break up, people's allegiance began to shift based on what someone can offer you. All my friends have a value which they bring to the table. Some were natural philanthropists, some were super intelligent, others had street cred, while a few were enterprising, I even had some that were chick magnets. Anyways, Unilag thought me to choose friends based on what value they could offer and believe me once you decide to be valueless in this life, I would dump you as a friend and maybe upgrade to the status of your helper.

4. Not every advice is useful: during my first year, I had friends who told me repeatedly that graduating with a first class doesn't matter. I believed this fallacy and when my CGPA for that session emerged, I sure didn't like the 2'2 stamped all over it. The way I read in my second-year ehn, no one had the effrontery to come repeat that nonsense about how graduating with a first class is a useless achievement. I eventually graduated with a 2'1, by then my 'first class does not matter' friends were chasing after 2'2 like their lives depended on it'.

5. Nobody likes you, they only like some benefits that come with you: I remember having less than 10 friends during my first two years in Unilag, but during my third and fourth year when I got my grades right and eventually became a student association executive, I automatically became everyone's friend and even turned the ladies man overnight. Always remember that people only love some things about you, if you want many friends and less disappointment in Life, remain successful. If you ever become a failure, everyone disappears. when that time comes, don't act like I didn't tell you

6. No is the new Yes: People make a lot of assumptions about other people. Once you can afford to dress well and speak impeccable grammar they assume you're super rich. If you're friendly, they assume you're vulnerable, and if you're the type of person who is very charitable, they would automatically see you as someone who can be easily exploited. Back then in School, once people notice you are Mr Nice Guy/Babe, they start misbehaving, encroaching on your privacy, property and start making frivolous requests from you. If you aren't comfortable with any request from anyone, learn to say no, both verbally and through your actions.

7. Believe in yourself: there is no universal measure for success, intelligent people are usually not the wealthiest, smooth talkers don't always become president, people that hit the gym every day also die young. No matter your present status and condition, believe in yourself so much that people will think you are mad. I knew a guy back then in Unilag, he used to attend a white garment Church, his parents were poor, he hardly could afford one square meal per day, he only had tattered clothes, but the kind of confidence with which he walks about was intimidating. He spoke freely like everyone else, he even went about doing morning cry every morning. I never stopped enjoying that guy's confidence, his self-esteem was so high that many a time, It felt like I, not him was the impoverished one who needed to walk around looking downcast and indigent.

Well, there it is. 

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