A Feature Series on How Poverty Shapes the Lives of Nigerian Students
Part One – Pythagoras: The Student Who Turned Mathematics Into Survival
At Lagos State Polytechnic (now Lasustech) , one name echoed through classrooms whenever mathematics became a problem: Basil Sylvester, better known as “Pythagoras.”
Brilliant with numbers and gifted with humor, he became both the problem-solver and entertainer of his community.
But behind the campus fame was a story of survival of nights spent squatting with friends, days spent trekking to class, and assignments done for others just to afford meals.
“Survival was my biggest exam,” Basil recalls. “I worked on projects all night, not just mine, but for others. That was how I managed to eat and pay bills.”
Mathematics became his lifeline, and his leadership and sportsmanship earned him respect. But his humor was his coping mechanism.
Now at LASUSTECH, his reputation still follows him. Basil dreams of blending mathematics with creativity in the future, but his story highlights a bigger truth: in Nigeria, many students’ greatest challenge isn’t passing exams it’s surviving poverty.
Part Two – The Dream Cut Short: A YABATECH Student’s Forced Withdrawal
At Yaba College of Technology, a 21-year-old Electrical Engineering student once dreamed of becoming an engineer. By his second year, the dream collapsed under the weight of financial hardship.
Despite strong grades and passion for circuit design, the rising cost of tuition, rent, feeding, and handouts became impossible to sustain.
His parents ,petty traders sacrificed all they could. He picked up part-time work as a delivery rider, but exhaustion soon caught up.
“It was not that I didn’t understand the work,” he says quietly. “I was just too exhausted. Confidence faded. Motivation was gone.”
Meals reduced to garri and water, grades slipped, and eventually, a family emergency drained their savings. Forced to withdraw, he now works as a mechanic, with hopes of returning to school someday.
His story is not isolated. According to the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), up to 30% of students in tertiary institutions face interruptions due to financial struggles. Rising inflation and tuition costs continue to crush ambitions.
Part Three – Carrying a Family’s Hopes: Adewale Basit’s Fight to Graduate
At LAUSTECH, 23-year-old final-year Computer Science student Adewale Basit is determined to become his family’s first graduate. But survival has been a bigger battle than lectures or projects.
Living in a small apartment in Ikorodu, Adewale juggles ₦150,000 rent, ₦85,000 school fees, transport, and feeding often on nothing more than garri. His GPA has dropped, his health has declined, and his debts keep piling.
“I go to lectures on an empty stomach, my hands shake in exams,” he says. “My GPA fell from 4.0 to just passing. It’s hard to feel confident when classmates have laptops and I rely on library computers.”
Still, Adewale is pressing forward. His final-year project on artificial intelligence has been submitted, and he is taking odd coding jobs, appealing to bursary offices, and even crowdfunding to pay his outstanding ₦85,000 before the portal closes.
Groups like the Lagos State Scholarship Board estimate that 15% of students are at risk of dropping out annually due to financial hardship. For Adewale, that statistic is not just a number it is a looming possibility.
“For my family, I will endure,” he insists.
Epilogue – Beyond Individual Struggles
From Basil the campus mathematician, to the YABATECH dropout, to Adewale the determined final-year student, one truth emerges: poverty is rewriting the scripts of Nigerian students’ lives.
For some, it means surviving on humor and talent. For others, it means withdrawal and delayed dreams. For the strongest, it means enduring hunger and debt in the hope of graduating.
