Within the first few days of
his or her arrival, a new Nigerian student schooling in the UK becomes popular.
Olamide Waheed moved to the UK when she was 11 to continue her education. Not
long, she became popular with her bald head, as the secondary school she was
attending while in Nigeria mandated everyone to cut their hair.
On her first day in school in
the UK, everybody wanted to touch and feel her smooth shining head and before
long, she got the nickname ‘the girl with the bald head.’
Her Nigerian accent also
made it all more interesting; everyone laughed at her whenever she spoke, and
she also managed to fake a smile when the white children spoke too, even though
she didn’t understand what they were saying.
It took her a few months
to really catch up and understand her teachers, so initially, studying was hard
for her. Soon she started making friends and now a university student; she
couldn’t but ponder on the difference between the standard of education in UK
and Nigeria.
In the UK, it is just as
if you have all the resources you need to excel at your fingertips and
examinations didn’t mean that you have to overwork yourself to pass, unlike it
is in Nigeria, because a revision guide which reflects what to expect in the
examination, would have been given. The libraries are filled with books, CDs,
magazines, all arranged alphabetically, to ease researches for the students.
And from the day you were admitted, you already know the exact date that you
will graduate.
“I just wish things would
get better in Nigeria, because the truth is, we all really wish we could be at
home with our friends and families,” she said.
For Bukola Adekola, when
she was leaving Nigeria, she believed the sky was the limit to achieve all of
her dreams, but later realised she guessed wrong, as being in the UK helped her
become so more confident in herself, that her dreams and vision look so close
to reach.
“I doubt you ever get
lectures on fitting into a new place, but one thing my parents always told me
was never to forget who I am and where I’m from. These words helped me through
it all, despite being bullied for different reasons, from hairstyles, to
dressing and accent. But in the face of giving up and asking my parents to take
me back to where I belong, I found courage to help me through as I channelled the
frustration, annoyance and pain into motivation, which inspired me to believe
that with God, my dreams could be accomplished,” she said.
By Omoniyi Yinusa
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