NO REGRETS: ASUU STRIKE LESSON LEARNT

In 2013 during the six months strike that the federal government made us go through without meeting the demands of ASUU, I was with my siblings. I spent the whole of that period in Port-Harcourt with my family. And I wished that was the last time such an abnormality would plague our educational system, but that is not the case.

Like many other lazy Nigerian youths, we initially found solace in old tv shows and were busy with TV 24/7 till we were all forced to take up vocational skills.

At the time, there was a high penetration of Philippine and Korean movies in the Nigerian entertainment industry, even more so now.

My sister, like most Nigerian girls, had a new crush. A Korean celebrity — Lee Min Ho. She forced us to watch one of his works. It was agonising, but we survived. I think the title is boys before or above or over flowers.

And like most shows I watch, I learnt a crucial lesson that I have since applied to my life.

The second female lead had a big crush on the third male lead but was, at best, ignored and humiliated by him despite all her efforts to get close to him. Towards the end of the series, they had ‘the talk.’ She told him she had moved on, and it seemed like she was giving up. But she said she was letting go because she had tried everything, but it just didn’t work out. And now she can move on without regrets.

One day, as I reflected on past events, I realized what a piercing message that was. And since then, it has propelled me when I want to give up on something to try my hardest. I push harder when I want to quit something and remember those words. Thinking to myself, what is worse than something not working out is the regret that you hold, knowing if you had done better, pushed farther, maybe, just maybe, things would have turned out okay.