By Oladepo Matthew Olatunbosun
For some Nigerian university and college students, the end of a lecture does not necessarily mean the end of the day’s work.
While some students return to their hostels to rest, study or prepare for the next class, others turn their attention to customers, orders and business transactions. They are students by identity, but entrepreneurs, vendors, designers and service providers by necessity and ambition.
Across different institutions, students are finding ways to combine education with income-generating activities. For some, the motivation is financial independence. For others, it is the need to support themselves, develop practical skills or make use of their talents while still in school.
But behind the hustle are stories of exhaustion, losses, time pressure, difficult customers and the constant struggle to ensure that the pursuit of income does not come at the expense of education.
At the University of Maiduguri, Samuel Doma Rejoice, a Nursing Science student, has taken on several roles outside the lecture room. She is a fashion designer and also runs a food and drinks business, selling Zobo and Kunun Aya.
For Rejoice, the decision to start a business was rooted in her desire to remain productive and become financially independent.
“I believe no one should be idle,” she said, adding that she also strives for independence as a woman.
Her approach to business changes depending on the academic calendar. While in school, she focuses on her food and drinks business, while during breaks at home, she combines it with fashion designing.
Balancing the different responsibilities requires careful planning. During examinations, she puts her business on hold to concentrate on her studies.
Still, the journey has not always been smooth.
There have been days when she was exhausted but still had orders to fulfil. One of her most difficult experiences came when 30 bottles of Kunun Aya got spoilt, causing her a significant loss and leaving her feeling like giving up.
She did not.
Instead, the experience became part of the resilience she has developed through the business.
The financial benefits have also given her a greater sense of independence. Her business allows her to take care of some personal needs without always having to ask her family for assistance.
But for Rejoice, the greatest lessons extend beyond money. She says the experience has taught her patience and resilience and strengthened her dependence on God.
“Through my business in school, I’ve learnt patience, resilience and I’ve learnt to depend solely on God because He’s the one who strengthens and gives grace,” she said.
She has also discovered abilities within herself that she did not previously recognise. Through entrepreneurship, she says, she has realised that “there are more potentials in me than I thought.”
For Ezekiel Happiness, a Social Science Education student at the College of Education, Zuba, the hustle takes a different form. She runs a Point of Sale (POS) business, offering services including cash withdrawals, transfers, bill payments and airtime and data sales.
Her reason for starting was straightforward: she wanted to support herself financially and become more independent.
Student life comes with expenses ranging from feeding and transportation to Teaching Practice materials and school fees. Ezekiel saw the POS business as an opportunity to generate income while remaining committed to her education.
But running a business alongside academic responsibilities requires discipline.
“I balance both by creating a timetable,” she explained.
Lectures and Teaching Practice duties come first. She attends to customers during free periods, evenings and weekends and uses her available time for studying and revision.
The arrangement is not without its difficulties. Sometimes customers arrive during class hours. Network failures can delay transactions, while limited capital can make it difficult to maintain the business. Security is another concern, particularly because of the risk of robbery.
There is also the physical and mental strain of combining lectures, Teaching Practice and business.
Yet the experience has provided more than an additional source of income. It has taught Ezekiel customer relations, accountability and business management, while helping her meet personal expenses, Teaching Practice transportation costs and contribute towards her education.
Most importantly, she has learned that education and entrepreneurship can coexist when properly managed.
“I’ve learned that education and business can go together if you plan well,” she said.
At the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa, Isaac Oluwatimileyin Ebenezer, a Mass Communication student, operates an online business.
For Isaac, the decision to become an entrepreneur was closely connected to financial independence. She explained that her parents had reduced the money they sent to her in school, giving her an opportunity to put into practice the discipline and lessons they had taught her.
Rather than remain completely dependent on her family, she began thinking about how she could earn money to take care of herself.
The online nature of her business has made it easier for her to combine it with school. However, she still has to deal with customers who may need her attention while she is in class.
Isaac says determination and communication have been important in managing such situations. By communicating properly with customers and making them understand when she is available, she has been able to maintain the business while continuing her studies.
But operating an online business also exposes her to wider economic pressures.
Changes in the Nigerian economy and increases in the prices of imported goods can affect the cost of products and, ultimately, what customers are willing to pay.
When prices rise, customers often look for cheaper alternatives, creating another challenge for student entrepreneurs trying to remain competitive.
For Isaac, patience and good communication are essential to building a customer base.
“When you are patient, you gain a lot. You gain customers,” she said.
Her experience demonstrates that for some students, the campus hustle is not confined to a physical location. With a phone, internet connection and determination, the marketplace can extend beyond the university environment.
While some students operate online or provide specialised services, Musa Abubakar, a Public Administration student at the University of Maiduguri, has found an opportunity in something much closer to everyday student life: basic provisions.
Musa runs a provisions business, selling products such as soap, milk, noodles, drinks, biscuits, toiletries and other daily essentials to students on campus.
The idea was driven by a desire for financial independence. With expenses such as feeding, transportation and academic materials, the business provides an opportunity to earn while studying.
The products also have a ready market because they are items students need regularly.
For Musa, balancing the business and academics is largely a matter of prioritisation. Lectures come first, while business activities are concentrated in the evenings and at weekends.
But the business comes with its own pressures.
Sometimes tests and business demands compete for attention. Starting with sufficient capital was another challenge, while credit sales have created difficulties when customers delay payment.
Despite this, the business has helped Musa meet personal needs, including feeding and the purchase of handouts, while also providing an opportunity to save towards school fees.
The experience has brought practical lessons in customer service, money management, discipline and record keeping. It has also given practical meaning to the principles being studied in Public Administration.
Most importantly, Musa has developed a broader understanding of the dignity of honest work.
“I’ve learned that no job is too small if it’s honest.”
Behind the income and independence is another side of student entrepreneurship: exhaustion.
Students who combine work with education do not simply add another activity to their schedules. They add another responsibility.
A student may spend hours in lectures, return to attend to customers, prepare orders, respond to messages, manage money and still find time to read for an examination.
For Rejoice, there are days when exhaustion comes at the same time as customer demands. For Ezekiel, Teaching Practice, lectures and POS operations can become tiring. Isaac has to manage customers while maintaining her academic responsibilities, while Musa sometimes faces situations where academic activities and business demands occur simultaneously.
These experiences show that the campus hustle requires more than the desire to make money. It demands time management, discipline, patience and the ability to make difficult choices.
For these students, however, the benefits go beyond money.
Their businesses have become informal classrooms where they learn lessons that may not be found in lecture notes.
They are learning how to communicate with customers, keep records, manage money, negotiate, deal with disappointment and remain patient.
Rejoice discovered resilience after losing 30 bottles of Kunun Aya. Ezekiel learned accountability and customer relations through her POS business. Isaac has developed patience and communication skills while dealing with online customers and changing market conditions. Musa has learned the importance of discipline, record keeping and responsible management.
Their experiences also challenge the traditional picture of a student as someone whose only responsibility is to attend lectures and pass examinations.
For these students, education and work are taking place at the same time.
The businesses and skills students develop while in school can become foundations for life after graduation. Even when the businesses are small, the experience of managing customers, handling money and solving problems can provide practical skills that may prove valuable in the workplace or in future entrepreneurship.
For Ezekiel, the experience is already shaping how she views her future as a teacher. For Rejoice, it has revealed abilities she did not know she possessed. For Isaac, it has provided a path towards independence and taught her the value of patience and communication. For Musa, it has turned classroom knowledge into practical management experience.
Their stories suggest that the campus hustle is not simply about surviving the present. For many students, it is also about preparing for the future.
The Nigerian student who works while studying is therefore living two demanding lives at once.
There are lectures to attend, examinations to prepare for and assignments to submit. There are also customers to serve, products to sell, orders to deliver and businesses to keep alive.
The journey is not always smooth. Businesses fail, products spoil, customers delay payments, networks fail and exhaustion sets in.
Yet they continue.
For Rejoice, the journey has strengthened her faith and shown her greater potential. For Ezekiel, it has demonstrated that education and business can coexist through proper planning. For Isaac, it has provided a path towards independence and taught her the value of patience and communication. For Musa, it has reinforced the lesson that honest work, no matter how small, has value.
Their stories reveal a generation of students who are not waiting until graduation to begin building their lives.
They are studying for tomorrow while working to meet the needs of today.
They are the students who work while they study.
