Memories happen to be the strongest part of this great escapade because memories hold a major percentage of our lives, right from conception, when one is given birth to, the growing up stage, teenage, gradual migration into adulthood, the journey of acquiring formal education, and the ultimate stage of being independent, which is characterized by a plethora of responsibilities.
Most of the time, memories are so beautiful because of the lessons we eventually learn as we sit back and reminisce about every single one of those moments.
The journey to acquire a university education was the most challenging for me, and fond memories have been made of every step of the journey too.
I want to particularly share the memory of my graduation day at the university. For those of us who attended public universities in Nigeria, you can relate to some of the funny and blissful experiences you face along the way and the overflowing joy when you are finally graduating, meaning, no more early morning lectures, no more fixed lectures at odd times of the day, no more if you fail to submit your assignment tomorrow, you'll mark and record it yourself, etc 🤣 🥰
I attended one of the 12 federal universities established by the then-administration of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. Federal University, Gusau, Zamfara State, Nigeria, to be precise.
Someone might be wondering already, what is a young lad from Kogi State looking for in the far-core northern state? Well, Nigeria is my fatherland, and I can traverse the length and breadth of the nation to get whatever I am looking for, regardless of the region my quest can be satisfied 🤣🤣
I studied one of the most amazing courses in the faculty of management and social sciences, public administration, to be precise, and from the beginning of the program till the final day, it was full of beautiful memories.
On 5 July 2023, the journey that began on 10, January 2018 came to a peaceful and successful end. I got admitted late in 2017 and resumed full academic activities on campus on January 10, the following year.
There was a painful and unbearable delay that hit and elongated our stay on campus far beyond the stipulated date of graduation. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. I was in my penultimate year when the pandemic overwhelmed the entire globe, and the lockdown made it worse. After the lockdown was lifted, we resumed the session that was ongoing before the lockdown was mandated. Just before we went too far into the semester, a warning strike from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) came with a two-week warning strike that eventually became eight solid months of strike 😭😭
The strike was suspended, and we resumed academic activities in October 2022. Our joy knew no bounds as we saw our revised academic calendar, and we got to know when we'd be waving a warm goodbye to the institution we'd stayed beyond necessary. By the way, a whole lot of us—the passion, enthusiasm, and euphoria we came into the university with died upon our resumption of school in October 2022.
In May 2023, the timetable for our final exam was released, and a breath of fresh air was all over the campus. There was this bilateral smile on the faces of my coursemates each time we came in to attend our remaining lectures before the commencement of our final exams.
The celebration picked momentum from 3rd July 2023, on our departmental WhatsApp platform as fellow coursemates filled the platform with chats of excitement and short videos of graduating students hugging, jubilating, and cheering themselves up.
And the D-day finally came. It was a morning paper by 8 a.m. Everyone appeared in their customized t-shirts with such a palpable level of joy and an unmistakable aura of happiness.
We were all checked into our respective halls, and we settled down to do justice to the very last exam in our lives as undergraduates. Everyone was extra careful so as not to fall victim to any unfortunate event or mishap.
After about an hour, the tension in my hall loomed as the invigilators moved around the hall, counseling the students, "This is your last paper, take your time, write very well, and congratulations on your successful graduation.".
Not too long some of my coursemates stepped forward to submit their answer booklets; some were captured by the invigilators as they were signing out of attendance with a smile.
By 11 AM, we were all out of the exam hall, taking photos, and making short videos with our customized t-shirts. Some paid for the t-shirt but couldn't wear it because the size they were given was way over their size, they came in their normal dress, but that didn't drop the tempo of the celebration at all. Every single one of us was high in the spirit of celebration as we were making the day memorial.
A group photograph on graduation day
We took photos with our lecturers, faculty officials, and ladies in the department who had their group photographs. Eventually, the whole group photography ended, and some continued with personal photos, and friends from other departments equally came to take photos with their friends. After the whole photography session within the school premises, some returned to their various lodges and hostels to prepare for our graduation party, which was scheduled for 4 p.m. that evening.
A group photograph by my departmental ladies
By 5 PM, the party began, and my coursemates were all on their feet dancing as the music resounded from the speakers. A session of your "worst experience, course, lecturer" followed, and we were all given the microphone one after the other by the MC, who was a student from the Department of History and International Studies, to share our worst experience on campus and say the others to the hearing of everybody. There was so much laughter in the room that evening as we shared our experiences and mentioned our worst courses and lecturers.
A particular hilarious one was shared by our coursemate Aliyu Suleman who added, "My first crush ever on this campus was Zar'hau Musa" The shock on Za'rhau's face added volume to the laughter.
There was a bottle of soft drink on everybody's table, we were sipping and listening to ourselves at the same time 🤣
A session of awards followed. We had 5 categories of awards, the most social, the most dressed, the most well-behaved, the most friendly, and the most supportive, all in both male and female categories, respectively, and my humble self won the most well-behaved in the male category.
Our coursemates, namely; Charity Gabriel, Nimat Olaide, and Victoria, were in charge of the snacks, and they made such succulent doughnuts, meatpies, and samosas for us. 😋
Myself and my buddy Wilson at the graduation party
You know, my coursemates were predominantly Muslim, so throughout the 4 years that eventually became six years because of COVID-19 and the ASSU strike, I always saw them with their hijab, but that evening, for the very first time, I saw them without hijab, looking so charming, and more surprisingly, they were vibing to the music 🤣 💃💃
I got tired at some point because I am not a social gathering attendant kind of guy, so I greeted them and excused myself.
Upon arrival at my lodge, because I stayed outside of the campus, a mother whom everybody in the lodge fondly called Iya Debo welcomed me so loudly with congratulations, and the rest of the occupants joined. They prayed for me, and Iya Debo served me swallow, and Egusi soup.
The happiness was so overwhelming that, despite staying in school beyond the stipulated years because of factors that were obviously beyond my control, I could not forget such memories in a hurry.
ALL IMAGES ARE MINE.