***The Life Of A Nigerian Youth***
by C.K. Ezeanwu

Chukwudi Okoye at the age of 20 is frustrated and tired of being stagnant but his eyes is open to a world of possibilities when he gains admission to study Anatomy in The Federal University Of Nonny[FUNNY].The story revolves around Friendship,Education,Endurance,and Dreams.

Disclaimer:
All characters and incidents in this book are fictional;any resemblance to real person or incident is coincidental.

ONE
He glanced at the portrait that hung at the back of his door and sighed before dozing off~ a custom he had developed over the years.

Chukwudi! He groaned and repeated some words which made no sense and fell back asleep. Chukwudi! He rose to the familiar sound of the voice of his younger sister,"won't you wash daddy's car,you know how he behaves when you forget",Nenye said. Chukwudi rummaged his drawer and found his wrist watch,shit! it's 6:25,he ran out through the backdoor like a man being chased by an angry mob.

Mrs Okoye hummed to the tune of an Igbo Christian song while preparing for breakfast., "Daddy come have a cup of tea before leaving",she urged her husband. Daddy is the word used by a large percentage of women in Nigeria to refer their husband and in turn the husband refers to the wife as Mummy. Unlike some other countries where you see a 70 year old man refer to his wife as "Baby" or "Honey" but I guess that will be really odd in Nigeria. Mr Okoye glanced at the clock then replied that he had an important meeting he couldn't miss,before exiting the sitting room.

"How many times will I tell you to make sure that the car is washed before 6:00 A.M",Chukwudi's father said."you only know how to eat and play around with all those girls"..."but...but...sir...",Chukwudi interrupted. "Shut up! Thank your stars i have somewhere important to be 'onye ibe ri be' ",Mr Okoye hissed and got into the car.

Sighing, Chukwudi thought about the last four years of his life,he had finished secondary school and was full of expectations,he never thought he would still be in his parents house seeking admission into the University and listening to the insults of his father. Nigeria is a country where seeking higher education is like looking for gold at the bottom of the Ocean,one has to go through rigorous processes and series of examinations which includes: The West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination or any recognized o level examination, JAMB UTME and post UTME.

Due to the unreliability of JAMB exam post UTME was implemented by Universities and other higher institutions to ascertain if a student is really qualified to study in the institution. One would think that JAMB examination would be cancelled leaving only post UTME but it is believed that passing two examinations is the only way to ensure a student is qualified.

However corruption in Nigeria has seeped into everywhere,starting from the Government to Hospitals, Banks, Schools etc. People are seen paying huge sums of money to write their exams in special centers where they are given answers to the questions and are allowed to bring in extraneous materials to the examination halls. Although the introduction of Computer Based Test[CBT] exams has reduced the number of student who bribe their way through, the use of JAMB and post UTME exam results is a ploy by the Universities and the Government to extort money from students.

Chukwudi originally aspired to be a Medical Doctor but after writing JAMB for four times consecutively he finally applied for Anatomy and prayed to be given any course "even Fish Farming or Zoology",he would say. Courses like Fish Farming,Zoology,Soil Science etc was the nightmare of every student in Nigeria,which made the mention of such course seem so bad but in other countries these courses had significance and one will be proud to pursue a career. In Nigeria people preferred to invest the money for school fees and expenses in business rather than pursuing a degree in such course for four years.

Chukwudi snapped back into reality and went into the house. "Breakfast is ready",his sister informed him, "I'll be there after brushing",he replied kicking his door open and collapsing on his bed before drifting off into a deep sleep.

***The Life Of A Nigerian Youth***
by C.K.Ezeanwu

TWO
"Finally!",Chukwudi exclaimed~He had received a call earlier from John,his childhood friend, informing him that the admission list for The Federal University Of Nonny[FUNNY] had been released, proceeding to the nearest cybercafe to check if he was admitted he got angry "if I had an android phone I wouldn't be walking in this harsh weather",he said.

The sun rays seemed to converge on his skin as he felt as if he was walking in a pool of larva, when he got to the cybercafe he was asked to pay a fee of 200Naira before they could begin.

He couldn't believe his eyes when he looked at the screen and saw:
Admitted Into
First Choice Course
Faculty: Basic Medical Sciences
Department: Anatomy
Admission Status: Admitted
Mode Of Admission: UTME
He carefully looked at the screen again and read from the beginning where his passport was affixed and JAMB registration number,name, state, and LGA was displayed, at the bottom of the screen he also read the instruction where he was congratulated and asked to proceed to the University's ICT Center to generate a Remitta Retrieval Reference[RRR] for the payment of an acceptance fee of #35,000."so after spending thousands of Naira for examinations I still have to pay the university for accepting the admission given to me 'what a country we live in' ",Chukwudi said.

He printed the admission status notification and ran home before letting out a shout of joy. Four years ago If he had gotten admission to study Anatomy he would have turned it down to pursue a degree in Medicine but here he was dancing to the heavens.

Chukwudi sat on his bed fantasizing on what to do when he leaves his house, "finally",he sighed "I'm getting out of this house". He couldn't believe he was now a student of FUNNY, he had been to the University only three times which would have been four if the Government didn't cancel post UTME last two years. He had thought that Nigeria was finally taking a step further in providing quality education,but that year institutions admitted an immense number of dullards due to the unreliability of JAMB and WAEC results. Candidates who had bribed officials during these examinations got very high scores in JAMB and distinctions in their WAEC exam so only few who really merited it gained admission. Now all those didn't matter to Chukwudi as he sat on his bed fantasizing.

Chukwudi snapped out of his fantasies when he heard the sound of the horn of his father's car. Mr Okoye was fond of honking his horn incessantly whenever he arrived which made Chukwudi always wonder what he would do if the gate wasn't opened for five minutes. "I guess he'll bomb the gate with an RPG",Chukwudi would always say to himself.

Mr Okoye sat on the sofa in the sitting room watching the 8:00P.M News when Chukwudi walked in and told his father he had something to show him.

Mr Okoye read the paper his son gave him and adjusted his glasses. "Finally, you've managed to secure admission ",he said "I will see to it that all necessary payments and expenses are made ",Mr Okoye added. Chukwudi thanked his father, went into his room and sat down on his bed. For the first time in four years he was happy, he looked at the portrait at the back of his door and collapsed on his bed.

***The Life Of A Nigerian Youth***
by C.K. Ezeanwu

THREE
"Se oju e ti baje?",Funke said. "e ma bi nu",Chukwudi replied the girl behind him. Funke was surprised when the boy who stepped on her foot replied her in her native language, due to frustration she had lashed out and asked him if his eyes were damaged but never expected him to understand since most of the people who stood in front of the University's ICT Center were of Igbo descent and she had spoken in Yoruba language.

Funke was a 17 year old girl who had relocated to Enugu State recently but was born in Osun State and grew up in Lagos State, she applied for a degree in FUNNY due to the proximity of the school location to where her family currently resided and was offered admission to study Accountancy, like Chukwudi she was also excited when she received the admission notification but that excitement had turned to anger and frustration as she had stood in front of the University's ICT Center for four days just to get the Remitta Retrieval Reference[RRR] for the payment of the acceptance fee. The instruction had seemed simple enough but one had to wait in a long queue just to obtain a printout containing the RRR. The length of the queue was due to poor computer servers, lack of power supply, and laziness of the workers. Corruption didn't help matters as you could see young girls and boys who were not on the queue strutting in with lecturers and other influential figures,when some of the students tried to protest they were sent out of the building so the rest kept quiet. This rigorous process was just to obtain the printout containing the RRR, one still had to go to the bank inside the school to make payment and come back to the ICT center for confirmation and Funke was just at the first stage.

"Sorry for taking my anger out on you",Funke told Chukwudi. "There's no need for apologizing, we're all on edge, 'I'm Chukwudi' ",he said extending his hand ,"Funke",she replied and accepted his handshake.

Funke sat on her bed trying to read the book she held which was titled "Asusu Igbo", she had registered for General Studies which was compulsory for every first year student and to her surprise Igbo was listed as one of the courses for General Studies. She was convinced that it was impossible for her to pass the course when she heard from her friends that even Igbo students fail the course and have to rewrite it as a carryover course the next year until he/she gets at least a pass, but her roommate encouraged her and helped her in transcribing her Igbo text and novelette into English to make understanding easier.

She couldn't concentrate as her mind drifted to the boy she met during her first week in the University's ICT center. She later found out that he was born and brought up in Lagos State which explained how he could speak and understand her native language,he escorted her back to the hostel she resided and that was the last time they saw each other.

Amaka, Funke's friend walked into the room with a mischievous smile. Amaka was one of the few people Funke had spoken to in her first week in school, she is fair in complexion, average height, has those newborn baby eyes that would always get her out of trouble, and a smile that could make even the terminator smile. "Someone is in a good mood",Funke said, "you're damn right bae cos you and I are going out this night ",Amaka replied. Funke laughed, "Oh you mean you're going out this night"..."No dummy we are going out ",Amaka said. "It's a week to our exams and you expect me to go partying"... "chill out bae", Amaka interrupted "All reading and no fun makes you antisocial", she said smiling. "I'm not antisocial, I just don't want any distractions",Funke defended. "Well whether you like it or not we are going ,afterall it's just a faculty induction", Amaka said before going into the kitchen to find what to eat.

***The Life Of A Nigerian Youth***
by C.K. Ezeanwu.

FOUR
Chukwudi arrived at the party and found a place to sit. "How far",Nick said. Nick was the course representative of the 100 level department of Anatomy in FUNNY and also one of Chukwudi's close friend, he responded to his greeting by giving him a handshake and a boyish hug. John came over to where Chukwudi and Nick sat with two girls and introduced them to his friends saying "guys meet my friend Amaka, and her friend Funke. Amaka,Funke meet Nick,the Course Rep of my department and Chukwudi,my childhood friend".

"Hey,I remember you. You're the girl who doubted the accuracy of my vision",Chukwudi said. "In my defense you almost chopped off my toe",Funke replied. They both laughed and shook hands, "um guess you two know each other, I would love to sit back and get to know you more but I have to take care of some things",Nick said. "I understand, 'duty calls' ",Amaka said.

Chukwudi brought two extra chairs and offered them to the girls. "This is the last place I expected to see you", Chukwudi told Funke."Trust me l didn't have a say in the matter...",she replied, "I was trying to prevent her from turning antisocial",Amaka interrupted. "I understand, I think it's silly for a faculty induction to take place a week to examinations, but John would have murdered me if I missed my own faculty induction",Chukwudi said. "You're right bro, I would have killed you,resurrected you then killed you again",John said causing the three of them to burst into laughter.

Chukwudi knocked twice on the door and was about to knock the third time when the door opened. "Come in ",she said. Funke had forgotten her purse at the party last night and Chukwudi offered to return it personally, since he still remembered where she resided she only needed to tell him her room number.

The room was arranged like a typical girls room, it was small compared to what Chukwudi was used to but ever since he left home for FUNNY he had been to several rooms which were similar in size.He concluded that the owners of the hostels were only interested in making money and were not concerned about the well-being of the students as they built rooms of very small size with poor ventilation and collected twice the normal amount paid for accommodation elsewhere. The room contained one medium size bed with two pillows which indicated that she was sharing the room with someone,a reading chair and table,two baskets which contained dirty clothes and some other materials. The curtains and bedsheet were made with pink linen and the room had a lovely mild scent.

"Have a sit",Funke offered "thanks",Chukwudi replied before sitting down.he handed the purse over to her and she thanked him for being a gentleman. Chukwudi picked a book from the table and read the title out "Mr Faraday's Past Questions For General Studies,Philosophy " "why not Mr Avogadro Past Questions or Mr Camillo Golgi's Past Questions",he said. "You do know that most of these past questions and textbooks are a bunch of crap",he added,pointing to the books on the reading table. Chukwudi had gone through some past questions and textbooks his friends bought from the people who occasionally popped into their lecture halls whenever they were free telling them stories only gullible people would believe and found out that the past questions were just a compilation of questions from other school exams and most of the answers to the questions were wrong. The textbooks on the other hand were compilations of paragraphs from different textbooks written by other people. In Nigeria plagiarism is treated with little regard, the President once read a speech that was copied word for word and it was televised nationwide. The original owner of the speech was from another country so I guess whoever prepared the speech for the President thought no one would notice.

"It helps me understand better, have you tried reading the textbook issued by the school? You won't be able to move past the first three pages",Funke said. "We science students don't do philosophy as a GS course instead we are given Humanities which is as boring as watching NTA news",Chukwudi said. "Oh you think Humanities is boring wait till you read about Empedokles, Aristotle,Plato,Anaximander,Anaximenes,Pre-socratic and Post-socratic era then you'll know why they invented the word 'Boring' ",Funke said causing Chukwudi to laugh uncontrollably.

***The Life Of A Nigerian Youth***
by C.K. Ezeanwu.

FIVE
"Desperado,sitting in an old monte carlo
A man whose heart is hollow
Take it easy
I'm not trying to go against you
Actually I'm going with you...",the lyrics of Rihanna's song "Desperado"played as he approached the door to his room. Chukwudi knew exactly who was on the other side of the door. Victoria loved Rihanna songs and often played them to calm herself and help her concentrate,"her lyrics is therapeutic",she would always say. Victoria lived in the same hostel with Chukwudi and they had become very close friends since the day they met. Occasionally, she came to his room to read or relax whenever the noise in her room got out of hand or whenever her roommate gave her an attitude. Chukwudi on the other hand had a room to himself as his father rented the room for only him,he considered looking for a roommate in order to make extra cash but after the squabbles he had witnessed between Victoria and her roommate he concluded that it was best to have his personal space, since Victoria was intelligent,friendly,and fun to be with he gave her a spare key so she could have access to the room.

"What's up Chuzzy",Victoria said as Chukwudi entered. "I'm awesome and famished",he replied. "Well I ain't your cook but since you're among the one percentage of boys i give a damn about,I took the liberty of preparing rice and stew",victoria said. "Oh Vicky what would I do without you",Chukwudi said as he ran to the kitchen.

"What happened between you and Joyce? ",Chukwudi asked Victoria. "Some people are just born belligerent,thank God the second semester exam is just two weeks away. As soon as I'm done my last paper I'm moving out of that hellhole called room ",she said. "Ngozi who stays downstairs said she's looking for a roommate so I've already started making arrangements ",she added. "Well if you say so. Did John drop by today?",Chukwudi asked, "no,I heard he was trying to avoid distractions due to the upcoming exams",she replied.

Chukwudi knew that the serious behaviour exhibited by his friend was ephemeral,the same had happened before their first semester exam. Chukwudi passed all his courses and his Cumulative Grade Point Average[CGPA] was 4.2 when he calculated it. Chukwudi had concluded that getting a first class degree in Anatomy would provide him with a well paid job since there were only few job opportunities for people with degrees in Anatomy in Nigeria. He remembered the joy in Funke's voice when she called to tell him she had passed all her courses including Igbo. John had developed a behaviour similar to what he exhibited now five days to the first semester exams but only someone with a very high and extraordinary Intelligent Quotient[IQ] could read and understand ten courses in five days. At the beginning of the second semester John had checked his results and had five carryover courses to rewrite but had gone back to his carefree lifestyle.

"I'm going for my X-ray tomorrow, let's go together maybe we'll be lucky and wrap up this medical clearance",Victoria said. "I'm not going to that Medical Center for anything till final year even though I have to pay two million Naira for not completing the medical clearance in my first year in school",Chukwudi replied.

If one had to write a review on Nurses and Lab attendants based on the attitude of those who worked at FUNNY Medical Center he/she would simply conclude that during their time in school,there was an extra course taught on how to frustrate students and derive joy from it.

The workers at the Medical Center are so arrogant, a nurse would shout at a student when he/she does not find the right blood vessel to draw blood from and would threaten to send the student out if he/she doesn't find the vessel at the next trial. Students have to come as early as 7:00 A.M and queue in front of the Medical Center but at the end of the day only 10% of the number of students will be given attention. The generator at the Medical Center looks like an antique and produces a sound no different from the sound produced by the machine used by the locals to grind pepper.

***The Life Of A Nigerian Youth***
by C.K. Ezeanwu

SIX
It was raining heavily as Funke ran into her compound. She removed the piece of clothing she used to cover her hair immediately she was under the protection of her room,she sighed and began to remove her wet clothes. Victoria had asked Funke to accompany her to the University's Medical Center in a bid to complete her clearance when Chukwudi refused to go with her. Funke and Victoria had become more like sisters since they met at Chukwudi's birthday party so when Victoria called Funke to ask her to accompany her to the medical center Funke agreed,but that turned out to be a colossal waste of time and energy.

The 100 level students of Anatomy stood outside the examination hall awaiting the arrival of the invigilators. The second semester exam had begun and they had written six courses. As usual they came with their ID cards and departmental shirts in case it was imposed as a criteria for writing the exam,twenty minutes had passed and they were yet to see any of the invigilators so Nick decided to find out what the cause of delay was. Nick returned after a short while and informed the students that Mr Damilola had forgotten that the students were to take his exam today. The students began to murmur and grumble, "keep calm people,Mr Dami assured me that we will still write the exam today,we only need to exercise a little patience",Nick told the students.

Chukwudi wore a smug look on his face as he came out of the exam hall. The questions that was given to them was an exact replica of the Test questions given to the former 100 level students before them. He had collected the Test questions from a friend to test himself and could recite every single question and answer correctly even if he was asked in a dream. "Mehn I'm surely getting an A in this course",John said as he joined Chukwudi and Nick. "Chuzzy wetin I for do if you no gree give me that questions wey you borrow, I for just faint,me wey carryover don dey build duplex for",he added. Chukwudi and Nick laughed, "come on,let's go to my lodge and eat,I prepared spaghetti before leaving this morning",Nick said.

Funke reached into her bag and brought out her law notebook. Since she was studying Accountancy she also did law as a borrowed course,she wanted to validate the answers she had just written in her answer booklet as she scanned through the notebook. She found where law was defined by the Analytical School of Jurisprudence as "the rule laid down for the guidance of an intelligent being by an intelligent being having power over him",she also saw where J.W. salmond defined it as "the body of principles recognized and applied by the state in the administration of justice". She was relieved that she got the answers correctly, she flipped the next page open and found where the tests for customary law was written and read it out "Repugnancy Test,Incompatibility Test,public Policy Test...".

"Accounting concepts:monetary measurement,cost and value,going concern,periodicity,entity,realisation,historical cost,matching,consistency. Principles of Accounting:materiality,disclosure,substance over-form,fairness,prudence,objectivity...",Amaka recited. "The class Agnatha,the class chondrichthyes,the class osteichthyes;Subclasses:Actinopterygil,Crossopterygil,Dipnoi. The class Amphibia;orders: Urodela,Anura,and Apoda. The class Reptilia;orders:Chelonia,Squamata,and Crocodilia. The class Aves,the class Mammalia;Subclasses:Monotremata,Marsupiala,and Placentalia...",John chanted as he walked around the room.

Amaka had discovered during her secondary school days that she was very good at cramming things so she did whatever she wanted to do with her time then a few days to examination she would recite the words and use different acronyms and pass all her papers but after then she would forget every single thing. John on the other hand was trying to impress her with the big words in his biology text which he knew nothing about.

He had invited Amaka over to his room so that they could study together but one would begin to wonder how someone reading Accounting Concepts and Principles and someone reading Classes of Vertebrates could study together.

"Wow! You guys are trying o,how do they expect you to memorize those big words",Amaka praised John. "That's why we are science students",he replied, "hmmm,the class Mammalia;Subclasses:Monotremata,Marsupiala,and um what was the last name you called? ",Amaka asked. "Ehm uh uh uh",John stuttered as he flipped through the pages of his text trying to find where the classes were written. He wanted the ground to open up and swallow him,how could she remember what he had recited when she only heard of it today while he who claimed to be a science student couldn't answer what he had been taught throughout the semester. "Placentalia!",she exclaimed. "Um ye ye yes that's what I wanted to say ",John said while looking at the ground.

***The Life Of A Nigerian Youth***
by C.K. Ezeanwu

SEVEN
Chukwudi! Chukwudi! A voice called out in the dream but he ignored. Chukwudi! He jumped fully awake to meet the gaze of his sister. "You sleep like a comatose patient ",Nenye said. Chukwudi realised that he wasn't dreaming instead it was his subconscious picking up the voice of his sister. "Do you have any idea what the time is? ",Nenye said. "No",Chukwudi replied. "it's 6:45 ",she said. "Why will I be concerned if it's 6:45",he replied. "Oh let me give you a few reasons: (1) Rapture is about to take place (2) The aliens have almost conquered the world (3) The vampires have decided to come out of the shadows",Nenye said.

Chukwudi gave his sister a confused look and said: "Nenye are you sure you're alright,what did you take this morning? ". "Oh I'm alright,I almost forgot the most important reason",she replied. And what would that be? Chukwudi asked "Daddy is going to skin you alive when he is all prepped to go to work and discovers that you've not washed the car",Nenye said. Crap! Chukwudi exclaimed, Nenye smirked at him as he looked for his wristwatch. It finally dawned on him, the reason his sister came to wake him was to remind him of his father's car which was the same reason she came to his room every morning before he left for FUNNY and all those talk about aliens and vampires was just her way of joking with him. He found his wristwatch and the time read "6:54am", "I'm dead",he said before running out of the room.

Nenye watched as her brother stuffed his mouth with a slice of bread, she couldn't understand how her brother's appetite had increased tremendously. Ever since he came back from school for the holidays he ate twice the amount of food he consumed when he was still at home. Mrs Okoye added four extra slices of bread to Chukwudi's plate as he ate. "Thanks ma",Chukwudi said. Mrs Okoye was shocked when her son arrived two weeks ago, he was scrawny due to the tremendous weight he had lost and looked like a local chicken that had all it's feathers stripped away, his bushy hair coupled with the weary look on his face made him look like a scarecrow. Since then she made sure that he was fed properly and wouldn't let him do any strenuous activity.

"Se o mo odo iya Amarachi?",Mrs Gbadamosi asked her daughter. "E mo mo",Funke replied. "lo ra ata ati alubosa mo fe se ewa ati iresi,ata ati alubosa to n wa n ile ti tan",Mrs Gbadamosi said before going into the kitchen. Funke arrived at the shop of the woman who sold cooking products and was popularly known as 'Mummy Amarachi',her mother had asked her to specifically go to the woman's shop to buy pepper and onions she would use to cook beans and rice as the ones they had were finished.

While waiting for the woman to attend to her,Funke watched as people gathered to brutalise a boy who was in his mid twenties. The boy was accused of the theft of a mobile phone belonging to a passerby,blood gushed out of every major orifice as they beat him but that didn't seem to concern his assaulters as they hit him repeatedly with sticks of different sizes. Funke remembered the security officers at FUNNY who were tasked with fighting cultism only for them to use their power to intimidate and assault any student they deemed not respectful,she wondered why we had Police officers in the country when people preferred to resort to 'jungle justice' but the Police were no different from the security officers in FUNNY,the security officers victimized students while the police officers victimized a large percentage of civilians. "What happened to 'innocent until proven guilty, I guess in Nigeria it's 'guilty until proven innocent' ",Funke said to herself.

***THE LIFE OF A NIGERIAN YOUTH***
by C.K. Ezeanwu.

Eight
" Bloody hell! I swear the sun rays converges inside the four walls of this school ",Victoria said "seems like you were over pampered during the holidays",Chukwudi replied. "Can't you see how she's shining, I bet you she hasn't trekked for up to fifty kilometers since school closed",Nick added. FUNNY resumed lectures last two weeks but most students knew better than to waste their time coming to school due to the reputation of their lecturers who were known to abstain from work for at least two weeks after resumption.

Year one students could be seen strutting in and out of different offices in a bid to complete their registrations, they were easily identified by their flashy outfits, heavy make up and enthusiasm. Victoria left the group with some friends and headed to her faculty while Nick and Chukwudi went to the Bank to make school fees payment.

"Funke! Funke!",Chukwudi called out. She turned angrily to see who was calling her but managed to put on a smile. "Hey, what's up",she greeted, "what's the matter? You look like someone preparing for world war three",Chukwudi said. "Don't mind me 'jare' I've been trying to get things sorted out with one of my lecturers, can you believe I was given an F in my main course despite how hard I prepared for the exam. I went to complain to the lecturer and she told me to get someone from the office on the first floor of our faculty to bring my script",Funke explained. "Damn that's bleeped up, so did she correct the mistake? ",Chukwudi asked. "Correct 'ke', I swear those people responsible for keeping files get off on frustrating and humiliating students. They keep telling me that they're busy meanwhile I can't see any work being done, all they do is talk, eat, and gossip. I've begged, frowned, complained but nothing seems to work, I can't rewrite that course and besides it will really lower my G.P". "Relax, it will be sorted out you just have to be patient, they can't keep frustrating you forever sooner or later they'll attend to you",Chukwudi comforted her. "I'll prefer to be answered sooner rather than later",Funke said.

Nick stood in front of John's room while humming to the tune of the song playing on his headphone. He couldn't get a hold of John since the past few weeks and expected to see him in school but he was nowhere to be found so he decided to pay him a visit. The door to the room swung open and he was greeted by Amaka, he was surprised but tried his best to hide it. "Hey, what's up",he said "I'm fine o, how have you been? ",Amaka replied. "I'm doing great o we thank God, is John around? ",Nick asked "yea, come in he's in the shower he'll soon be out. Will you eat rice? I just prepared it",Amaka said "no, thanks I just ate I really appreciate ". Nick sat down and looked around, the wardrobe was half filled with Amaka's clothes, the room had a feminine scent and was littered with female belongings. "No wonder I couldn't get a hold of John, he has been playing house with Amaka ",Nick said to himself.

~You don't mean it, so this is how John ended up~ "I'm telling you the both of them are practically living together, instead of him to think of a way to make up for his failures in the last semester's exam he's playing Mummy and Daddy ",Nick said. Chukwudi laughed and said, "we need to talk some sense into him;he's our friend" "you guys gossip like a bunch of little girls",Victoria said as she served the both of them food.

***THE LIFE OF A NIGERIAN YOUTH***
by C.K. Ezeanwu.

NINE
"Damn girl! Where have you been? I've searched high and low for you",Funke said. "Chillax bae, I've been around I just needed to blow off some steam before FUNNY starts stressing me out",Amaka replied. "You're not serious o, you needed to blow off some steam, If you're not careful you'll soon start blowing off the flames on the candle of your first child birthday cake" "ah ah which kind talk be that, no let me vex for you o",Amaka angrily replied.

"Young girl what did you say your name was again? ",Mrs Ezeh asked as she looked at her laptop. "Funke Blessing Gbadamosi",Funke replied. The women handling the files in Funke's faculty had finally brought out her script but they couldn't give it to a student so they sent a corper to accompany her with the script. "You said you were given an F? ",Mrs Ezeh asked. "Yes ma",Funke replied.
"That's not possible, what is on my laptop is an A but what is on your script is an F, I must have made a mistake when compiling the results. When your scores are summed up it can't give you an F, I apologize for the mix up but I'll have to correct it and send it to your H.O.D before it can reflect online but be rest assured that it'll be corrected ",Mrs Ezeh said. "Thank you Ma, I'm very grateful ",Funke said before exiting the office.

"Nigga! 'Na you be dis?' ",Chukwudi said. "No 'na my spirit, how e dey be na?' ",John replied while offering Chukwudi a handshake. "Everything ls fine o, I'm just trying my best to scale through the hurdles of life"
"Which hurdles? Your life is perfect, you've got good grades, money, and fine girls what else is there to life",John said. "I don't have time for girls o and besides there's more to life than money and girls, let's go in before lectures begin you know how these lecturers behave sometimes",Chukwudi replied.
Chukwudi glanced at his wristwatch and sighed,it was 5:00 pm and they were done with the day's lectures. Students could be seen coming out from different halls in pairs talking or arguing, John was about to leave When Chukwudi confronted him, "o boy e get wetin we won yarn"
"wetin happen",John replied. " " ' I no want make e be like say I dey put my mouth for wetin no concern me or make me and you come get problem because of one or two matters but If I no tell you e go get as e be' this your relationship with Amaka is having negative effects on you, don't get me wrong I'm not saying you shouldn't date anybody you're your own man so you should do what you feel like it's ok for you to do but I feel like she's being too clingy, you hardly come to class or any social gathering instead you're locked in the room with her and even when you decide to go out she's always with you. It's getting out of hand and people are starting to notice",Chukwudi said.

"I know this talk is coming from Nick, I've been waiting for this ever since he came visiting the other day and like I've told people 'it's my life' so I'll do whatever I want with it. You guys are not my parents and even though you are I'm above eighteen so you have no right to tell me what to do, you know me very well so you shouldn't have brought up this topic, I don't like people talking about my affairs it disgusts me ",John said before walking out angrily.

Chukwudi opened the door to his room and flung his bag on the bed. "How did it go with John? ",Victoria asked "it was terrible Vicky, You need to see the way he talked to me and walked out. Well I don't blame him I don't know what made me confront him, this will be the last time I'm ever speaking to him, I went to talk to him like reasonable adults but he's still acting like a ten year old child who acts rashly before thinking",Chukwudi replied. "Calm down, I'm sure he'll come to his senses as for not speaking to him again I'm sure that's never going to happen, you guys quarrel like couples always ",Victoria said.

Amaka swung the door to her room open and saw Funke, she folded her arms and stood there. "Hey, Sorry for this morning I didn't mean it I was just messing with you, what do you say? Let bygones be bygones? ",Funke pleaded.
"Come in 'jare', I've forgotten about It, would you like to eat? ",Amaka asked. "Are you kidding me, I'm famished ",Funke said.

***THE LIFE OF A NIGERIAN YOUTH***
by C.K. Ezeanwu.

TEN
~Well, we've been avoiding this topic since forever I've been waiting for you to say something but it doesn't seem like you'll ever say it, maybe you're just shy or you don't know how to say it but it's pretty obvious and I think we need to take a step forward in our relationship~
"Hey, have you been listening to what I've been saying",Funke said. "O sorry It's just that I have a lot of things on my mind, you were saying?",Chukwudi replied. "I was talking of you and I taking a step forward you know maybe from friends to...you know what I mean",Funke said. Chukwudi was not listening to what Funke had been saying for the past fifteen minutes but he was sure that a relationship was the last thing he needed. A few weeks ago his whole world started crumbling, he received word from home that his father was arrested. The company said he embezzled company funds and demanded he pay back every dime, most of his assets were seized and accounts frozen Chukwudi never had a personal relationship with his father so he couldn't tell if the charges that were brought up were false but one thing he knew for sure was that court cases in Nigeria took forever to settle and while his father was tied up in court hearings he had no way to take care of himself financially.
"Funke, I don't think I'm ready for a relationship with anybody yet, I have some personal issues I'm dealing with and moreover,I need total concentration on my studies",Chukwudi said. "So you're saying I'm a distraction",Funke replied
"No that's not what I meant, I only said..." "you said what, because what I pretty much interpreted from your statement was that I'm a distraction",Funke interrupted. "Well interpret whatever you want I don't bloody care, the last thing I need now is to end up like John",Chukwudi said
"You are an asshole,you know what; Bleep you! ",Funke said as she angrily stormed out of the room almost knocking Victoria down. "What was that all about?",Victoria asked as she walked into the room. "Vicky don't, right now I don't have time to talk about petty arguments",Chukwudi said.

"Hey class remember to pay your class dues for the month it's just Fifty Naira also remember that we'll be contributing Five Hundred Naira each to buy gifts for Chioma who'll be getting married next Saturday.",Nick announced. "I'm not paying more than Twenty Naira for the class dues",a girl from the back of the class shouted. "Yes, how can we be paying you salary, in a class of two hundred students payment of Fifty Naira each amounts to Ten Thousand Naira. What are you using Ten Thousand Naira to do in a month, just to photocopy some things and buy recharge card that'll enable you to pass information to us. I think Twenty Naira is even too much it should be Ten Naira",another girl supported.
"You must be going crazy blessing, how can you say we should pay Ten Naira ordinary Fifty Naira you can't afford",Mike replied
"If it's ordinary be paying it for us, see his mouth like ordinary idiot! ",Blessing said. "Did you just call me an idiot ",Mike angrily stood up. The class became rowdy, people with conflicting views on the issue were shouting on top of their voices while others were at the verge of exchanging punches. "Listen up everyone, I don't like to argue much so I'll just say this once; the class due is Fifty Naira and nothing is going to change that, if y'all can't pay the money I suggest you look for another course representative ",Nick said before exiting the class.

"Don't tell me that rubbish, so you're saying you don't have money for me to make my hair",Amaka said
"No I'm telling you I have the money but it's going to be used to do something more important than fixing a fancy weavon",John replied. "I see what's happening, you've been listening to the advice of your stupid friends ",Amaka said.
"This has nothing to do with my friends, it's about the way you spend money on extravagant things. I can't keep giving you money every week to buy fancy clothes, fix your nails, buy overpriced cream, fix your hair ah ah do you want to wreck me before I even start life, look at me ever since we started dating I look like an HIV patient while you keep shining and getting fat even my shorts have started pulling from my waist to show you the extent of suffering I've been enduring",John replied.
"Infact you can keep your little money and love to yourself, this relationship is over",Amaka said. "See if you want to leave I'm not holding you back, have you heard that sound sultan's song that he said 'I spend my money everyday on top woman
I no care if she run away to another man' you know the words that come after that but in my case I'm not ready to be your 'mugu' your personal 'magga' for life",John said.

Chukwudi stared at his textbook once more before closing it, he had been staring at the same page for over an hour but he couldn't make sense of the words written on it. He couldn't concentrate on anything at the moment maybe it was due to the rumbling sensations in his stomach as he could barely afford three square meals or the headache which was as a result of the incessant thought of quitting school. He didn't know how he would even get through this semester, he couldn't afford most of the textbooks he needed and couldn't meet up with payments in school. He sighed and collapsed on his bed but sleep wasn't an option as the pain in his stomach and headache was unbearable.

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