Being watchful in associating with people on campus is what every student is forewarned by their parents or guardian. Needless to say, it is essential because campus is like a jungle of gentle and wild animals; and for one to walk through this jungle, the steps and groups one move with are vital for one’s survival in it.
The campus is a house to all kinds of menaces and, to a handful extent, religious institutions put in place for non-partisans in bad groups. It is worthwhile to note that joining religious institutions doesn’t portray that some students are not member of fraternity. Cases have shown that some students whose lives are cut short were qualified for such consequence as they were not publicly but bona fide member of a confraternity.
Beside this predominant, ever-present issue of cultism in our higher institutions of learning is the unforeseeable menace: unruly roommate, which is never forewarned.
Parents, guardians as well as new students never foresee that roommate can be a major cause to one’s mishaps.
There are various versions of roommates. Of course and needless to say, there are uncountable versions of people — the callous one, the judgmental one, the never-take-blame one, and the kind and humane one.
Thus, expect the unruly roommates who would show nonchalance even if one is an asthmatic or ulcer patient.
To exaggerate, the most ranked cause of conflict amongst roommates is the food insecurity issue. Every roommate would, in one way or the other, have experienced this exaggerated issue. Simply put, every student complain of Sapa. Students always have dry season in every semester. During this period, each student clamps on whatever bit of food they have in store, even if their roomie is dying. Often, you will hear comment like :”If I give this my small remaining food out, what will I feed on?” And truly, what will the person feed on if they give out their left food?
But even if you would accuse me of being reproachful, I would keenly condemn this unruly act as it does not make sense to keep in store what you refer to as “small” food when your roomie is dying of hunger. If I hear you recite “be your brother’s keeper”, I will squeeze that your mouth before slapping you hard in the face.
To the unforeseeable part where roommates have been the cause of the destructive ends of one another or one influencing the other, I would say – and you would probably agree – that often, roommates are harmful.
In one of the trends of harms in sharing a roommate is the video I saw on social media where a guy had almost used his roommate for money ritual.
In case you didn’t come across the video, I’ll vividly and quickly narrate the story to you.
In the video, a calabash is seen in the floor of the room the two guys share. An Ankara wrapper said to be of the other guy’s mother was folded in a way that the calabash would sit balanced on it. There is black soup inside the calabash and there is a local sponge. It is only God that could have dissolved the evil aftermath if the ritual had been performed before the guy was caught. And the shock is, he didn’t deny it. How could he in the heat and hits of slaps from unofficial interrogators?
However, it cannot be totally said that all roommates are evil. No! Since the criteria to know the good and the bad among human being is not visible.
Quickly, movies have always portrayed such type of roommates who are saints in the day and ghosts at night. When I say ghost, I mean the ones who party at nights: Prostitutes!
No one is perfect to be chosen as a roommate. Are human beings perfect in themselves? No! But the fact to stick to is, be wise in choosing a roommate. And how can you be wise in choosing a good person you don’t know from Adam? Well, I leave that to your instincts since there are no criteria to qualify or identify a good or bad person.
Or, more desirably and preferably, be your own roommate. Be by yourself and bear the brunt of a solitude life if you cannot be tolerable to have an unruly roommate.
Quadri Yahya is the Deputy Editor, Press Club MAPOLY. He is also an ND2 student of the Department of Mass Communication.
