Have always thought school is where you go for solution, oh! How wrong I have been. Life in UNN has thought me that the word “life” is nothing but a synonym for challenge. So pardon me if I change the topic to challenge(s) in UNN.

If UNN was a relation, he/she would be that 3 years old girl that asks nothing but questions; what, where, who and why.UNN has been nothing but challenges, Struggle for balance, Where you count your losses and wins daily. Today you are on top, tomorrow you are struggling below.

“In character and in learning”, what a better way to describe it. In this great citadel, one is tested in all ramifications. Ranging from post-ume , which personally was a test of patience( where I sat at school library for hours before commencing the exam) to first year daily jogging from GS building to carver building( physical exercise). Early morning classes, even our clearance was endurance exercise. Daily visit to the F.O’s office knowingly fully well the outcome.

“To restore the dignity of man”, what a selfless cause. Dignity which you knew nothing about its existence and loss. In character and in learning, could there have been a better challenge? UNN my dear is not for the faint hearted.

Room 323 Mbanefo. There I learnt to feel safe amongst strangers, chuks, obi, ik, Onyia and chibyk. The names I learnt to trust. In Mbanefo I was challenged. My survival instincts were called to duty every now and then. Bread and groundnut became a kingly dish. Indomie were for the gods and comfort, my friends, became a case of mind over matter; if you don’t mind sleeping on the floor then it doesn’t matter.

Class rooms were arenas (Spartacus), built with proverbial blood and sand. Our lecturer (doctore) presents us with more challenges. Challenges in form of test, in form of attendance, and in form examination. They (some though) equip us with rubber knives and the hunger for more, and then send us off to slay the ancient dragon (Class board: 1+1= 2. Question paper: 1x+x+y+2=?).

Outside the marker board, one contends with heat, exhaustion and constantly repositioning to see the board. In UNN, I learnt more outside the classroom than I learnt staring at the marker board. Faced challenges of managing my time. In a day, I have to attend my classes, go for fellowship, tutorial, play football, visit Lucy, go for night class ( which of cause is thought to be a prerequisite) and make it for 7am lecture the next day.

Life in UNN, in totality is the ultimate challenge. Like pig iron goes into the hot furnace to come out as cast iron. UNN is a hot furnace. No wonder it is said that a UNN student is ahead of you naturally. Life in UNN. One is taught to wake up daily. Never end your controversy. Challenges in UNN; to restore the dignity of man, in character and in learning.

 

As Thomas Henry Huxley said decades ago “education is the instruction of the intellect in the laws of nature”. Furthermore, Hebert Spencer emphasized that “education has for its object, the formation of character”.

With the above stated aphorisms, I now want to delve proper into the topic of this article, life in UNN. The University of Nigeria, Nsukka, a great citadel of intellectuals was established in Nigeria to meet the natural tendency in man to learn and his willingness to attain universal truth. Hosted by the dynamic Nsukka community, the school, in its grandeur has been in existence since 1960 and has so many achievements to its credit. Since its inception of academic programmes, the university has stood as a giant in the areas of academic training and skills acquisition. To capture lucidly, life in UNN, it is imperative to keep these major categories in perspective: academic life, social life and economic life.

Admission into UNN is phenomenal. Academically, the standards of the school are overwhelming. As a UNN student, the story is not different. The stakes are high and expectations seem apparently unattainable. A fresher’s life in the environment is better described in the words of Thomas Hobbes, brutish and barbaric. The complexity of the settling down procedures qualifies as a subject of moral discourse. In the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, reading is a culture and a panacea for academic survival. Night classes serve as a means towards this end. They are just inevitable even in their energy-sapping nature. In simple terms, the University of Nigeria is an academic battle field where survival is for the resilient and sagacious.

Plato said “A good education consists in giving to the body and to the soul all the beauty and all the perfection of which they are capable”. Education is defective if it doesn’t impact the ‘entire self’. The importance of socialization is aptly captured in the curricula of the university. Sports is a celebrated fiesta. Faculty competitions organized annually by the sports directorate offer students the opportunity for psychomotor and physical well- being and development. There are several other fora with prospects of social integration. The faculty and departmental nights organized by the students as well as the senior staff club are unarguable examples. The social life in UNN can be safely described as healthy and alive within control.

The school in the recent past had the looks of a semi-market. Its economic life is vibrant with various businesses characterizing its view. A plethora of restaurants are found at all nooks and crannies providing the metabolic fuels needed for intellectual assignments. Furthermore, the photocopying business remains a luxuriant one with great market potentials. The school is truly a beehive.

Finally, what one learns after a stint in UNN is that life itself is a challenge. Life in UNN is adventurous and creates an impression on the adventurer, intellect-wise and character-wise. Great art thou in science and in arts! Hail my alma mater.

UGWUODO, CHIKA JUDE