The World's Not a Level Playing Field

(By Nkechi Bianze) – THE WORLD IS NOT A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD 

She lost her parents before the age of 12, so she went to live with an aunty who although turned her into an unpaid house-girl, but was at least nice enough to send her to a nearby public secondary school. She finished secondary school with a good WAEC result.

At 18, she ran away from home, after her auntie’s husband tried to rape her.

Cici slept in church buildings for some days till a member of the church took pity on her, and decided to employ her as an office cleaner and office messenger. She also gave her free accommodation.

At 19, and just about a year into her new job, the sister of the entrepreneur who she worked for as a cleaner/messenger wanted a nanny from Nigeria. She couldn’t afford to pay the professional nannies in the UK, so she opted for an “imported” one from Nigeria.

The lady was going back to school for an intensive two-year program, so she needed someone to look after her three children while she combined full-time education and full-time work.

At 20, she was in the UK with a 6-month visiting visa. She got back to Nigeria before her visa expired, and applied for a two-year visiting visa.

She continued working as a child minder, cleaner and cook, and was being paid £500/month, that’s just about 20% the market value of all the services she rendered.

Her host/employers gave her accommodation, and they fed her. She was practically a live-in help.

In two years, Cici saved £12,000. She was able to save all she earned as basic salary since she had no other basic expenses, and no dependent.

Before Cici got back to Nigeria, she secured admission with the Pharmacy department of a school in England.

She paid £8,000 as her first (Foundation) year tuition.

She got back home, borrowed money from her former boss (a very nice woman to whom she is still grateful till today), added to her money, applied for a UK student visa, and got it.

She started her program in 2007, at the age of 23. I started mine in 2008. She wasn’t a student in my school, but we met by chance and became friends.

Cici did ALL SORTS of legitimate JOBS while she studied. She would gladly wipe your ass if you were willing to pay her just little money.

She worked as a cleaner at McDonalds, worked in nursing homes as a healthcare assistant, worked as a waiter in the City stadium...... she worked her ass off.

While her classmates finished lectures and moved to the library to study or back home to rest, Cici would jump from lectures to a 12-hour shift. She did all these because she was self-funding.

I worked too, but it wasn’t a “do-or-die” for me like it was for her.

There was this very day that Cici went for a 12-hour night shift right after her class, and she had a test the following day. I asked her to slow down on her pursuit for money, but she said to me “Nkechi, if you get broke and financially stranded today, worse case, you would call home. Your parents won’t watch you suffer. And even though they haven’t got much, they won’t let you drop out, they would rather borrow than watch you lack. But you see, I haven’t got someone to call, even though I have to listen to them tell me that they don’t have. It’s either I kill myself struggling it out, or I drop out of school. This looks like my ONLY shot to make it in life. My dear, it’s a “do-or-die” for me.”.

We graduated same year. I attended her graduation. And one of the greatest wonders of all time till date for me is the fact that she graduated with a FIRST CLASS, at the age of 28.

I don’t know how on earth this girl pulled it off. She was always working. She barely had time to breath well, let alone enough time to study and rest half as much as others did. How did she do this?

A vast majority of her classmates were fully sponsored. Still, she came out second best overall in her department. I’ve got absolutely no doubt that she would have set an unbeatable record in that school if she had a sponsor like others did.

And this brings me to the point I want to make.

Last year or the year before, it was on the news that Rochas Okorocha’s son graduated with a first class from the department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Manchester, and that I applaud him for.

First class is never an easy thing to pull anywhere in the world. He must have put in some good efforts.

But then, for obvious reasons, I CANNOT compare Rochas’ son first class to my friend’s first class.

He never had to work.
He never had to worry about his bills.
He never had to worry about how to pay his next tuition.
He was never logged off his student account simply because he was owing tuition.
He never had to jump from class to a 12-hour shift.
He was in one of the best Engineering schools in the world.

The ONLY thing he had to do was to study. It would have been a shame if he didn’t do this one thing well.

My friend had to do much more than study.
She never had a life. She jumped from lectures to lab to work to library to bed(where she had less than 5hours sleep per day).
She was logged off her school account a million times for late payment of tuition.
She borrowed money from me a million times (and she paid back every penny by-the-way).

What am I trying to say?

Some people had and still have it easier in life.

I’m trying to let you understand the difference between these two:
A secondary school child who was born with a diamond spoon, enrolled at the best school, with the best class and home teachers. Who had enough balanced diet to eat, had siesta, never got sent back home from school, and whose ONLY duty was to study
AND
A student who went to a cheap community secondary school. Who had to help mama fry akara in the morning before she goes to school, of course always late with very old and torn uniform and a weary pair of sandals. Who gets home and have to hawk satchet water till evening. Gets back home to cook, and wash her uniform because she has only one. And looked forward to midterm when she always got chased out of school for not paying the required tuition.

And at the end of the day, these two children are expected to sit for same WAEC, NECO, and JAMB.

If these two students make an A with exactly same score, you would agree with me that one of them have had to work much harder than the other. This is the difference between Rochas’ son’s first class and my poor friend’s first class.

Some people walk through a bed of roses and arrive at a success, while some people have to overcome huddles and walk bare footed on sharp thorns to arrive at their successes.

Because the world is NOT a level playing field.

We must acknowledge that sometimes, the difference between being a success and being a “nobody” is OPPORTUNITY and life privileges.
Life privileges are those things you did NOT have to work for or earn, but which sometimes give you a relative head-start in life. Like being born into a rich family, where you wouldn’t have to worry about money, like most others would.

Even Angelina Jolie acknowledged in one of her very emotional speeches that there might be a better actress than she is somewhere in the world living in abject poverty. And this better actress might never have the opportunity to discover her talent and showcase it to the world. She went ahead to say she would never be able to say why she made it and the other person didn’t

It is for this fact I love reality shows like the X-Factor, and Got Talents shows. These shows provide an almost level playing field, and give opportunities to those who ordinarily don’t have it.

It’s my dream to someday mastermind something similar. Maybe intellectual this time.

*-*-*-*

By-the-way, Cici did her pre-reg, passed and got registered as a Pharmacist. She currently takes home a decent salary working as a pharmacist.
She got married two years ago. She recently got her PR, and will be eligible to become a British citizen in less than a year. She’s earned her success, and the last time we spoke, she told me that she’s glad that her children won’t have to suffer what she suffered.

And I must add that there are many Nigerian students like my friend in the UK, US, Canada and some other countries. These guys work EXTRA HARD to make it. I just want to celebrate them today. And if by chance anyone of them reads this posts, I just want to say “HANG ON, keep striving. Your journey might be tougher, but you will get there at the long run.”..

- Nkechi Bianze