Economy: Poverty drives undergraduates to sell snacks, sweets in campuses

The poor state of students in the country’s tertiary institutions is clearly telling how debilitating Nigeria‘s economic condition has become.

In the days of yore, bags of food, clothes, provisions, textbooks, laptops, television sets, cushions, beds, stoves, among other necessities, were provided to give an undergraduate comfort to excel in his or her studies.

But today, not only that such amenities no longer available, but exorbitant school fees and other prohibitive costs, including textbooks, have even made it impossible for parents to provide some of these things for their wards’ convenience.

However, many wise students who understand the predicament of their parents have decided to help themselves out. Economy&Lifestyle has discovered that most undergraduates now sell snacks in the schools to survive.

Today, in the campuses, inside the hold-all bags of the students are goods such as biscuits, sweets, chewing gum, and more.

Make no mistakes! Those items are not necessarily for their own consumption. They are for sale, and proceeds from the sales will help them survive the hardship in school.

Although one of the consequences of this new venture is distraction from proper academics, those who spoke to _Economy&Lifestyle_ said survival is paramount, because hunger does not allow for concentration.

Miss Kate Momoh, a Mass Communication undergraduate, said she took to selling snacks in class in her 200 level when she lost her father.

“It was difficult for me when I lost my father who was the sole sponsor of my education.My brothers and uncles had their family but gave me the little support they can for my education.

“My mother couldn’t do much because of her state of health. I had to support myself by selling snacks like biscuits, sweet, chewing gum and stationery like pens, pencils, erasers and books, for survival. This has helped me in sorting out things like feeding and paying for handouts and other school necessities.Mr. Sadiq Ekhei , an undergraduate of biology, said: “In my 100 level, I suffered a lot.

“Feeding and rent was very difficult because my parents could only afford my school fees. Before school I was enrolled in a baking institute to master the art of making pastries and other foreign and African food.

“Thank God for this knowledge, I would have carried over the suffering to 200 level.I had to gather the little money I saved to start making chin-chin, puff-puff, and fish rolls to sustain myself. I sell them in classes before and after lectures.

“When I don’t have lectures I move to various lecture rooms to make sales. It is still not easy, but it is fair compared to my situation on the 100 level. Many students are suffering in school. Most parents can hardly feed at home and send little or nothing to their children in school.Knowing where we are coming from, there is little one can do except to find a means of survival while schooling.”

Mr. Jubril Oleighe, a lecturer, commended the efforts of struggling students noting that many of such students graduate with good grades because knowing their distractions, they put in more effort to excel in their studies.

According to him, “Such things were not very common in higher institutions. “ But today, many parents have low paying jobs and with the current economic situation, purchasing power is very low. So, I commend students who instead of going into prostitution or money rituals, strive to survive legitimately”.

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