I think the social network a university provides is the most underutilized resource anyone who have access to it misses.

University is that place that provides you with a plethora of opportunity to meet people of different walks of life, cadre, age, cultural background, orientation, affluence, grace, strengths and wits.

It is however sad that students don't often utilize this opportunity in its grandeur and splendor while still in school.

I may be wrong, but I don't think there's any other social institution that brings people together in that huge number for a number of years meeting everyday, engaging in coursework and other related activities together other than tertiary institutions. You can't possibly have such an opportunity again once you're out of school.

I see that a lot of students are setting themselves up for future regrets and moments of "had I known" by not networking with people on campus.

Some students only know their HOC and maybe a few other persons in the entire school. This, as much is it's a personal choice is one of the choices one makes in life and regret later. Simply because you can't go back to the university to do what you were supposed to do right when you were there.


A lot of people make the mistake of seeing only the present of people in our lives so we don't think of them as any big deal. But right there in your classroom are future governors, senators, ministers, CEO(s) of a big conglomerate, captains of industries, policy makers, investors, business owners, superstars etc. But they don't look like it yet because they are going through the process of what will make them become it.

One of the lessons I've learnt is that most of the creme de là creme of the society today who are movers and shakers of the country or the world are often friends/associates who met in the university and who took their friendship/association further in life to leverage each other's strengths and resources to grow individually and collectively.

You see, the university is a goldmine if you know how to identify gold in its ore form and its refined form.

I find it quite disturbing that people whose chances are naturally low at big things in life due to their background and other related circumstances still choose to play it small in the university, not networking with people at all throughout their years.

Here's it, your first major development and growth in life will come from people who can take a chance on you. Imagine not making efforts to connect with anyone at all?


I have always told my students, ensure you network wide, vertically, horizontalally, laterally and in other forms.

You don't necessarily need to befriend too many people but build a wide network of people. The goodness you desire in life is actually already crafted in people. It is your people's skill that will get it out for you.

You may think life ends in the university but indeed, life is just starting after graduation. By the time you're graduating, the friends you left at the neighborhood are no longer around, everyone has gone ahead with their lives. Now imagine not building any network while in school.


One of the lessons I share with my students often is, build relationships with your lecturers, don't just know your lectures, let some of them know you by name, by face and by some other personal attributes of yours.

I've heard of so many cases where students are trying to secure scholarships and one of the major requirements is their academic references. Someone who can write on their behalf to speak to their attitude, character and competence.

In so many instances, long after the students have left the institution, it's always a full-time struggle to get a lecturer who will write the references for them simply because no one know them that much.

Now if they manage to get a lecturer to write for them, the lecture will write just something random and won't be able to speak to any form of strong interpersonal relationship he or she has with the student. And this, oftentimes, put the application in a state of credibility disadvantage.

I wish there's a course designed to teach students from their year one on campus the essence of building meaningful relationships while on campus.

The ability to network when and where necessary is as important as having either a first class or 2'1 grade from the university.

Please if you're still a student, connect with your departmental mates, extend beyond your department to your faculty and other faculties while working hard on becoming what you'd want to become so that you'd be known for something and you won't be just that guy/lady who's popular on campus but for no significant reason.

And let some of this connection be deeper, start business together, build brands together, set up organizations together, become associates, be more than departmental mates because that title will soon phase out.

Learn to connect with people while you're still on campus, connect with your fellowship/mosque people. In fact that's one of the reasons it's called "fellowship".

Connect with the non-academic staff, the security guards, the traffic wardens, the drivers, the bike-riders, within and outside the campus community. Life always present cases where the essence of those connection will matter. If you can't connect directly with these kind of people, connect with someone who has such pool of connection.

At this point, the question many readers have is "how can I start to strategically build my network?"

I will address this in the next series.
Just ensure to follow up on this series.

Remember, the goal is to make the rest of our lives the best of our lives.

Toheeb Bisiriyu.

ifutureconnect