If you’ve never lived in a university hostel, you might think it’s just a place to sleep.
That was my first mistake.

The wahala started on a Tuesday night.

NEPA took light around 9 p.m., right when everyone suddenly remembered they had tests, deadlines, and unfinished assignments. The room became hot, loud, and restless.

“Ah ah, again?” Zainab shouted from her bunk. “Is this hostel or punishment centre?”

I lay on my bed, phone at 12%, fan frozen mid-spin like it gave up on life. I had a test by 7 a.m.

Then Blessing stood up.

“I’m tired,” she said. “Every time, it’s always noise. Can everybody just sleep?”

Sleep?

Chioma laughed. “Sleep ke? When mosquitoes are holding meeting on my body?”

Before anyone could blink, the generator from the next block kicked in. Loud. Angry. Like it was protesting life.

Zainab slammed her book shut. “So we’re not reading again today?”

That’s when the real fight started.

Blessing accused everyone of being irresponsible. Chioma said Blessing was selfish. Zainab said the hostel management didn’t care if we passed or failed.

Then they looked at me.

“You’ve not said anything,” Chioma said.

I swallowed. “Honestly… I just want to pass and go home.”

Silence.

For the first time that night, everyone laughed. The tension broke, just a little.

We pulled our mattresses closer, shared one power bank, one torchlight, and a packet of groundnuts. We took turns reading out loud while others listened.

At 2 a.m., someone knocked.

“Please, who has water?” a girl from the next room asked. “Our tap stopped working.”

Zainab sighed but stood up. “Come in.”

By morning, we were exhausted. Sweaty. Half-prepared.

But something had changed.

As we walked out together, Blessing said softly, “I’m sorry for shouting.”

Chioma nodded. “Me too.”

That was hostel life.

No privacy. No comfort. Too much noise. Too many people.
But somehow, it teaches you patience, survival, and how to live with people who didn’t grow up like you.

In the hostel, you don’t just earn a degree.

You earn stories.
You earn resilience.
You earn wahala… and growth.