Things Students do to Make a Living on Campus

BY USMAN YUSHA’U
U13MM1020

The poor dad says, “Love of money is the root of evil” while for the Rich Dad, "Lack of money is the root of evil”. The above, coined by Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, poor Dad, has become a popular adage among students of university, who claim the saying captures their life on campus.

Contrary to most students’ belief, there are actually many businesses you can start on a low key for little money. All what they need is the will to get more out of their 4-5 years in the university than just a degree.

There is a saying that not all fingers are equal. It is true that some people are born with a silver spoon while others are not. From our findings, students engage in many activities on campus to survive, such as make up or manicure and pedicure, barbing, catering or baking, photography, fashion designing, training (instrument or language), social media management, event planning, sporting merchandise, blogging and art as well as website designing. Some are sponsoring themselves; others depend wholly on their relatives. Most students who do business on campus have to sell below the prices obtained as this is the only way they get fellow students patronize them.

There are those who push trucks during holiday to earn a living but when they come back to school, they live normal student's life. Some other others engage in evil activities in the quest to make quick money.

There are students who own phone booths where other students make calls and buy recharge card, printing, dying cloths, computer or phone accessories among others. Which they also make money from, especially when writing project, students subsidize the printing fee in order to attract more customers.

Salihu Kabir, an undergraduate student of Library and Information Science Department, said he lives a 'big boy’ as an undergraduate not because his parent are rich, but because he is proactive.

He explained that  with the little knowledge he has on printing, he is now doing many printing jobs like customized clothes, magazines, stickers and postcards, posters, souvenirs, almanacs, diaries,  etc.

"I become well patronized by student politicians who I lobby. With time, other association fellowships started coming to me. I don’t own a printing press. I usually collect in bulk and push them to a printing press.

Some other students make money by forming pressure groups. The group would pay courtesy calls on politicians, prominent personalities and establishments and in in return, would be given money.

Some of these groups align themselves to some particular politicians or aspirants. They are mobilized and are well paid. The truth is that parents of these students may not really know what their children are doing on campus.

However, there are others students who engage in stealing, prostitution and other vices.
Many go into students’ union politics because they believe they will get money from it to train not only themselves but also their families.