By Maria Famakinwa

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Olaniyi Abodunde, (not real name) successfully deceived his parents for one and half years claiming to be a student of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) Ondo State. The student who claimed to be studying Business Administration at the said university revealed that his antics became known to his parents after his cousin was admitted to the same university three years later.

His words: “I became desperate to be admitted in year 2021 after staying two years at home without admission while my friends had secured admission to different universities. In my desperation to be admitted, I was introduced to one Mr Ladi who assured me that he had been in the business of helping students secured admission for years because he had connection with the admission officers of some universities that my admission would be ready in two weeks after paying N40,000 to process it. I paid the money and within two weeks, my admission letter was ready. My parents and friends were happy that the battle was over and congratulated me.

“It was after I wanted to pay acceptance fees that I discovered the admission letter given to me was fake. Efforts to locate Mr Ladi were abortive and I could not open up to my parents. It was during this challenges I met another student, Olu, with a similar problem. He suggested that instead of telling my parents, I should play along and prepared to write another JAMB the following year which I considered a brilliant idea. My secret became known to my parents a year after writing the JAMB and I failed while my cousin passed and was admitted to the same university. I opened up to my cousin because there was no way I could hide it from him. My cousin told his parents who called my parents and told them. Since then, I never earn my parents trust again.”

A similar scenario played out with Michael, who wasted three years for cultism-related offence at Ogun State University. According to him: “I was admitted in year 2020 to study one of the engineering causes but was expelled due to cultism. I resolved not to tell my parents because of the way they would feel.

“I knew how they struggled to pay my school fees and sent money and foodstuffs to me, including provisions. Telling them to me would be suicidal, instead, I decided to write another JAMB and start all over again but quite unfortunately for me, things didn’t work out as planned. My parents later got to know after my mother paid a surprise visit to me during the school examination and was told that I was in Lagos to see my uncle. She called my uncle immediately and he confirmed that I was with him. My uncle gave me the phone to speak with my mother and she asked why I was not in school while others were writing exams. I knew there was no place to hide anymore, I opened up to my mother and she started crying. I begged for forgiveness but she went back to Ondo State brokenhearted. She got home and told my father what happened. That was how joining a bad gang affected my good plan. Though, I am still trying to pick up the pieces of my life and the scare is still very feasible and painful,” he lamented.

Michael, who further revealed that he could count more than ten students in the same university who were not bonafide students but continue to collect money from their parents for school fees and feeding urged parents to be interested in the activities of their children on campuses.

Also, a former student of Ekiti State university, Ado-Ekiti, Tobiloba, revealed that he became a fake student after he spent his school fees on betting and didn’t win. He said: “I have been into betting before I gained admission to the university to study Political Science. My thought was that I would win to have enough money to cater for my needs on campus because I had won in the said game many times only for me to lose everything.

“I spent two years on the campus collecting school fees, feeding and accommodation money without my parents knowledge until when my father’s younger brother, a lecturer in the same university who assisted me during my admission process got to know. He called and told me that he had found out I had been deceiving my parents to collect money from them whereas I had no record in the school as a student. I didn’t know how to defend myself again because he had the facts with him. I begged him not to tell my parents but he refused. Since a year ago that my parents got to know, we don’t see eyes to eyes again. I wounded my parents trust but I am working on how to win their love and trust again. Mine is even better, some students are spending three years on campus yet they are fake. Probably waiting for the graduation day to tell their parents,” he revealed.

The idea of fake students on Nigeria campuses is not limited to male alone as Aderonke, who claimed to be admitted to a polytechnic in Osun State was later discovered by her parents to be lying after two years.

Her words: “I was admitted to study mass communication in one of the polytechnics in Osun State and I was congratulated by everyone for gaining admission but my problem started when I did not do the necessary online registration on time until the portal was finally closed. As a result of this, I could not go back home to tell my parents especially my father who I fear so much. I met other students with a similar problem and we later concluded to stay on the campus pretending to be bonafide students while we prepared for another JAMB the following year but things never worked out as planned until my set completed there National Diploma (ND) and went for their Industrial Attachment (IT).

“Meanwhile, I was playing along as my parents sent me money for school fees, feeding among others. When my set went for their IT I equally went home and I was congratulated for finishing my ND. By this time, I was not at peace with myself thinking how to tell my mother. She eventually got to know when I told her that I preferred to do my IT in a private school because I could not find any organization to work for. She told my father and my father requested for my IT documents to send to his friends.

“Immediately I told him I was coming, I dressed up and ran to my father’s sister and explained everything to her. She was the one who revealed everything to my parents who expressed their disappointment and called me a deceitful child. I stayed in my father’s sister place, work as a petroleum attendant and at the same time read to re-sit my JAMB. When I didn’t make my JAMB exam, I opted for part-time at Lagos State University (LASU). I have two years to complete my programme but up till now my father didn’t contribute a dime to my education and warned me not to come close to him. Though, it is tough not getting any support from him except for my mother who reluctantly send money to me, I have made up my mind to complete the programme if only to win his love again because he is such a caring and loving father to have. Many fake students are on campuses collecting money from their parents, go home when the school is on holiday and resuming when the holiday is over just like real students. I know I betrayed my parents trust but I accepted the blame,” she said.

The Hope spoke with Dean of Students Affairs, Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Prof Olusegun Akanbi who also confirmed the infiltration of the school’s campuses by non-students but disclosed that the institution’s management had developed a system whereby genuine students could be identified.

On why some students ended up as fake, Prof Akanbi explained that there are different categories of fake students on campuses. He said: “Some are around to prepare for UTME but they parade themselves as university students. Some came to process admission, but when they could not meet up with the admission as a result of their UTME scores, they may decide to stay back and parade themselves as students. Some refused to pay the school fees and decided to stay back in school, while some have been advised to withdraw from school due to academic failure, but they may decide to stay back on campus”

Prof Akanbi who admitted that it was difficult for the management to identify fake students because of the large number of students on campus added that it is certain that fake students cannot have examination results because there is a need for them to write their Matric numbers on the answer scripts.

On the implication of this on the affected students, their parents and the institution, the Dean said that the implication on the students is that they will never graduate from the school, and they will keep on wasting their youthful age. “Some of them may be involved in social vices, and some may eventually become cultists, which could be responsible for their destruction. The effects on parents are in the area of wasting their resources on such students. The expectations of such parents will be dashed, which may eventually lead to hypertension. While the implications on the institution could be numerous, such as constituting nuisance to the university environment, inciting normal students against the school authority, involving in violent protest against university management, causing problems in various lecture rooms among others.”

On steps taken by the university to address it, Akanbi said that the university always emphasizes the wearing of an ID card as a means of identification for normal students. “Likewise, the security in our university always walks around to identify and interrogate some of the students who stand idle on campus.
Some of them can be identified by taking attendance during lectures. I want to advice parents to be more involved in their children’s academic performances while on campus. This will help to curb fake students and guide them against wasting their hard earned resources,” he said.