The first time this was mentioned to
some university students, they reeled
out laughter at that coinage because
some experienced and could attest to
it. In university campuses across
Nigeria, it is a common phenomenon
for male students to rent off-campus
apartments just for comfort and “a bit
of privacy” as one of my classmates
would say. Living in those houses
alone is now a thing of the past as
some students wants to experiment
marital life before leaving campus
and getting married proper. This led
to the term “undergraduate nna anyi ”
which represents a male student
living in his rented apartment with
his girlfriend. This “couple life” as it
is being referred to in some schools
makes the male student assume the
role of a husband and his girlfriend-
the wife. This relationship has every
attribute of a real marriage except
that it must be devoid of pregnancy
and the consent of the parents of
both parties. The “undergraduate nna
anyi” who relies on his parents for
money, becomes the breadwinner as
he provides money for food, sight-
seeing during weekends and most
often provides the female student
with money for her upkeep. The
female student on the other hand
cooks, cleans up the house and
satisfies her man’s sexual appetite. In
some of these relationships, the
female student’s accommodation fee
is used for household expenses or in
some cases, the proud-but-hungry
boyfriend asks the girlfriend to look
good with it (i.e. buy clothes and
beauty accessories). This two are
known by neighbors and people
living around as they are seen going
to and coming back from school
together almost every day. For some,
the only time they remember that
they are actually students is when
examinations come knocking as they
spend a better part of the semester
practicing family life. It is not
uncommon to find most
“undergraduate nna anyi’s” sleeping
during lectures due to the vigils they
keep at night. These male students
tell every form of lies to their parents
in other to get money for themselves
and the demanding relationship and
the female student doesn’t have this
knowledge. At times of lack, maybe
when the money they expect is not
forthcoming or when they must have
exhausted their allowances before
time, these male students are seen
running from one friend to another
trying to borrow money just to please
their girlfriends because as we all
know, women have affinity for cash.
The relationship as enjoyable as it
seems from the outside, has dire
consequences as some results in
pregnancy which in turn leads to one
or the two students dropping out of
school or in more serious but rare
cases death of either the boy or girl
as a result of sexual marathons as
had been witnessed in some
university campuses. Most often, the
male student squanders their school
fees in the process which kicks off
their problems in school as some are
seen spending 6, 7 or more years for
a 4year academic program. My advice
to those who are thinking of
engaging in the so called couple life
is this: “not all that glitters is gold”.
And for those who are already in it
and think they are enjoying it- “the
end justifies the means.
THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY
VICTOR IKEJI, ( A final year student
in UNN)
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