Ahmed Salim Jn

One of the most difficult lessons many students learn is that loneliness is not always the absence of people. Sometimes, it is the feeling of being unseen in the middle of a crowd. A campus is filled with conversations, laughter, group photographs, and shared walks to lectures. Yet, behind this constant activity are students who quietly carry a different experience. They participate in discussions, contribute ideas, attend meetings, play games, and make sincere efforts to belong. Still, they often leave with the unsettling feeling that they were merely present, not truly included. A suggestion is overlooked. A contribution receives little attention. The conversation simply moves on. Gradually, the mind begins to ask painful questions: Am I worth listening to? Am I anyone's friend, or merely a familiar face? Others respond differently. Rather than risk embarrassment or rejection, they withdraw before anyone has the opportunity to reject them. They speak less, interact less, and slow...

  One of the heaviest burdens many students carry is not failure itself, but comparison. A student may be hardworking, disciplined, and genuinely intelligent, yet feel inadequate because the results do not reflect the effort invested. Examination scripts are graded, scores are released, and suddenly one's sense of worth becomes tied to numbers on a sheet of paper. The problem often begins when students measure themselves against the highest-performing individuals around them. In such comparisons, they may conclude that because they are not the best, they are not good enough. Yet these are not the same thing. Not being as good as someone else does not mean one is not good. Reality, however, can be difficult. Sometimes a student who dreams of graduating with a first-class degree finds himself struggling to maintain a second-class standing. Despite countless hours of study and sincere effort, the desired results remain out of reach. Repeated disappointment can gradually weaken motivat...

There is a kind of struggle that rarely appears on result sheets or graduation photographs. It belongs to the student who is constantly trying, yet never seems to arrive at the place he imagined for himself. He studies, writes examinations, and waits for the results, only to discover that his name is absent from the very top. People may call him intelligent, but he quietly dismisses the compliment because he knows others who perform better. Even his strengths feel ordinary to him. Perhaps he can speak before an audience, but he has seen classmates do the same, sometimes with greater confidence and eloquence. So he concludes that there is nothing exceptional about him. Then comes another layer of the human experience. Many young people enter the university carrying convictions shaped by their families, their faith, and their personal values. Yet they also carry emotions. The desire to be understood, appreciated, and loved is not a moral weakness; it is part of being human. The conflict ...

  Every university teaches courses, but there are other lessons, about disappointment, identity, friendship, conviction, loss, resilience, and hope, that are never listed in the handbook, yet shape a person's life just as profoundly. These are lessons  lecturers don't write on the board which I believe are embedded in the Unseen Curriculums of our learning institutions.  I will be writing a series on this curriculum that no course outline prepares a student for; the disappointment of trying and still falling short. No examination tests the ability to recover from betrayal, loneliness, or the quiet fear that everyone else is moving ahead while you remain in the same place. Yet these lessons are as real as what one  taught in the lecture hall. A university awards degrees in Medicine, Engineering, Law, and the Sciences, but life within the university often offers another education entirely. It teaches young people how to live with uncertainty, how to face comparison wit...

  Every year, Democracy Day invites us to celebrate a hard-earned national achievement. We remember the long and difficult journey that shaped Nigeria's democratic experience, the voices that demanded justice, the citizens who endured uncertainty, and the men and women who sacrificed comfort, freedom, and in some cases their lives, so that the will of the people could matter. The greatest lesson of democracy is that it is never a finished project. It is a responsibility shared by government and citizens alike. Over the years, Nigeria has recorded important progress. Democratic institutions have endured, elections have continued, and many public servants, security personnel, healthcare workers, teachers, entrepreneurs, and ordinary citizens contribute daily to the nation's development. Their efforts deserve recognition. At the same time, our country continues to face serious challenges. Security concerns affect many communities. Economic pressures weigh heavily on families and b...

  One of the greatest responsibilities of any society is the values it passes on to its young people. Beyond academic knowledge, schools and examination systems are expected to teach fairness, integrity, accountability, and the belief that hard work leads to success. It is therefore deeply concerning whenever allegations emerge that students are being asked to make unofficial payments in connection with public examinations. Whether such incidents are isolated or widespread, they raise important questions about the kind of lessons young people are absorbing from the systems around them. For many students, examinations represent the culmination of months, sometimes years, of dedication and sacrifice. They study under challenging conditions, often with limited resources, trusting that their efforts will be rewarded based on merit. Any suggestion that financial contributions could influence outcomes risks undermining that trust. The issue extends beyond the money involved. More troubli...

  It is a deeply disheartening experience when students in schools begin to live under the constant fear that they could become targets of violent criminals who parade themselves as bandits. Education is supposed to offer hope, security, and opportunity, yet many young people now attend school with anxiety hanging over their heads. What is even more troubling is the growing boldness of these criminal groups. It is no longer enough that they abduct innocent citizens; they now display their victims on camera, issue outrageous demands, and attempt to dictate terms to society. Demands for enormous ransom payments, the release of imprisoned gang leaders, the provision of arms and vehicles, and even calls for the enforcement of religious laws reveal a level of audacity that should alarm every responsible citizen. If any community desires particular social or religious arrangements, there are constitutional and democratic channels through which such aspirations can be pursued. No armed gr...

  The persistent wave of kidnappings, killings, and acts of terror across parts of Nigeria remains one of the most painful realities confronting our nation today. Few incidents are more heartbreaking than the abduction of schoolchildren, the murder of teachers, and the torment inflicted upon innocent citizens whose only desire is to live peacefully and pursue education. These victims have committed no offence. Yet they find themselves at the mercy of criminal groups that have transformed human suffering into a profitable enterprise. What makes this tragedy even more troubling is that many of those responsible often cloak themselves in religious language and symbolism. They invoke sacred expressions, bear Muslim names, and present themselves as adherents of Islam. Consequently, ordinary Muslims who reject violence and uphold the sanctity of human life are left with the burden of constantly distinguishing their faith from the actions of those who have betrayed its principles. We were...

  One of the most deceptive features of disease is its ability to imitate recovery. In medicine, we are often taught to look beyond what is immediately visible. Symptoms may improve temporarily, pain may lessen, and fever may subside, yet the underlying illness may continue to progress silently. This reality becomes especially important in environments where fever is frequently attributed to malaria or typhoid without proper evaluation. Across many communities, the appearance of fever is often followed by a familiar response: an antimalarial drug, an antibiotic, and a few tablets of paracetamol. Sometimes the fever reduces, and this reduction is interpreted as evidence that the treatment is working. Unfortunately, temporary improvement is not always the same thing as recovery. A persistent or recurrent fever deserves attention. When a fever repeatedly returns after treatment, it may be an indication that the diagnosis is incomplete, the treatment is inadequate, or that an entirely ...