School. Lecturers. Money. Nepotism.

I spent my time, my money, my brain cells and she spent the class dues.

What’s up guyyy? Missed me already?

We promised consistency and now we’re trying to keep up. Maybe it’s because we’re cooking… Yes a whole lot is in store for youuu!

We’re doing a reality check today, because, In the silent (sometimes noisy 😐) corridors of campuses across Nigeria, there are whispered stories, we always hear them, covered in half-truths, or completely swallowed by fear and shame. Things like: paying money to pass a course you’re sure you didn’t fail, sex for grades, lecturers making advances to students and a lot more. We laugh at lecturer memes, protest over grades to our exam officers or whoever is in charge, and exchange tales of ‘wickedness’.

“It’s all part of the university experience” until it actually happens.

But what happens when it goes beyond frustration? When the lines between power and system become blurred and students are reduced to hopeless pawns in the very system that’s meant to ‘shape’ them

Well, this month we’re pulling the curtains, we’re talking about the quiet horrors - the exploitation, the extortion and psychological games that many students endure behind the scenes. These are stories you don’t find on school brochures or hear during orientation. And sadly, these stories never get told.

Today, one of them will.

A TRUE CAMPUS STORY

-By a community member who just couldn’t stay silent anymore

School. Lecturers. Money. Nepotism.

These four words in one equation is bad news.

I heard stories about schools doing it and I thought “oh, yeah, there's some sort of discipline at my school”.

I kind of forgot that discipline was always ironed on the outside and messy inside.

I didn't know I'd get dragged into the the mess too.

There's someone you should meet, let's call her Tortoise.

She acted like she had seen the world twice and taken notes.

Tall, Calm, always sounding so wise.

And she seemed harmless…. Well, until money entered the group chat.

There's me, the boy with big glasses and striped T-shirts.

The rest of the cast: my coursemates, two lecturers – Mrs Ophelia and Mr Stephens, and my level advisor…

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It started slow. Like most red flags do.

We had titles.

I was the assistant Class Monitor and Tortoise was the Class Monitor but somehow I was the one making phone calls, begging lecturers, burning my data to respond to texts from our 65% confused coursemates.

She'd vanish when we needed to do actual work and blame the most simplest things after. Meanwhile, people around – students, lecturers, Non-academic staff – all thought I was the course rep.

And I might has well have been.

I spent my time, my money, my brain cells and she spent the class dues.

I didn't notice at first, not till I started thinking of the fact that I was spending my own money when the class had an allocated fee and I hadn't made use of it and the receipts weren't receipting.

Keep in mind that Tortoise looks like a tortoise.

She isn't much in the looks department. She always looked like she time-travelled from 2004.

And the only thing she really knew was the mental Tourette’s she developed when responsibilities were set.

I began to hold her accountable.

I asked questions. Requested updates. Tracked expenses.

She hated it. She started throwing insultive jabs at me hoping get me off her back.

Meh, I stuck to her like a leech.

She misplaced files that we were supposed to submit as a class and looked at me like I was supposed to fix it.

And I did. For a while.

Eventually, the class caught on.

We were supposed to buy somethings for departmental practicals and we had just a tiny amount left.

Madam had spent it the money. Money for class dues and a field trip and equipments.

We don't know what she could have possibly used the money for.

She had no phone. Her laptop had a rickety engine and still wore her Lazarus sandals to class. Where did the money go?

Even Wolfram can't solve this.

500,000 gone. Disappeared like a grain of rice in beans.

We called a meeting. About 3 hours of truth.

I laid it all out. The facts, timelines, behavior, receipts(her bank statements included).

The way she looked at me. If she had fangs, I'd have been blind.

She was told to return the money or face the school's disciplinary committee.

After that, The weird started.

Mrs Ophelia who'd been mostly uninvolved suddenly turned sour. Refused to take our practical work. Said it was nonsense and we wasted our time.

Practical that was supposed to be our CA.

She looked at me evilly.

I didn't know why.

Not until she was talking and she referred to Tortoise's case.

It was at that moment I knew.

Yeah, well, I thought.

Not just me anyways. Other members of the class that heard her talk knew also that something was up. We also heard that so many other levels have had to put money in their assignments to be scored appropriately. I thought it was BS and didn't act on it.

We finished exams, went on break.

One busy evening. I was at church subtly working on livestreams, when I got the call.

It was Tortoise and Mr Stephens. Tortoise said they had failed me and I had to pay to be scored. I'm not a dullard or anything, I definitely did not fail that course. If my village people wanted to strike, I'm sure there were better ways to.

I knew they had failed me. Because why would Tortoise call me with the lecturer's number?

I would have said maybe it was a prank but Mr Stephens also spoke to me on that call to assure me it wasn't a joke.

She has backup.

Quiet backup.

I'd they spent the money together I don't know but what I do know is that I kept the recording of the call as hard evidence and spoke to my cousin about it.

He's in the judiciary.

He asked me if I wanted him to make their lives miserable. He was really waiting on my response and then I thought about how much a damage the case could bring to their lives.

I'm waiting to see my results. If I fail both Mrs. Ophelia and Mr. Stephen's course, I'll be sure they ganged up against me and help the law.

If I fail just one, I'll rewrite the course next session (that won't be stressful) and make use of the evidence I have for another thing….

I didn't envision my school life to be like this – this is like the beginning of chaos for me.

I have a feeling all three of them are involved in this and I'll have to use my cousin’s connections to deal with them and make use of my evidence in some other way.

It could all lead to unnecessary backdoor chatter about me but I like to think I'm Patrick Jane in The Mentalist.

I'm not as good has he is but I'll get there someday.

I might as well get some practice now in mild blackmail.”

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Stories like this aren’t rare, they’re just rarely told.

This isn’t just gossip, but a pattern.

The sad part? Most people never speak up and even fewer are believed. So maybe the real horror… is how normal this has become.

If you're reading this and you've ever been threatened, manipulated, or blackmailed by a lecturer know this: You’re not alone. You are not the problem.

And when you're ready, reach out and we'll be here to help you tell your story anonymously. Your voice could be someone else’s survival guide.🙃