“Every good thing comes to an end”, the age-old adage goes. For students of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Ogba, a phase of the journey to pursue their various courses in Mass Communication, Broadcast Journalism and Public relations and Advertising came to a close on Friday, August 9, 2024, when students across all levels successfully completed a significant part of their academic journey by finishing their examination, marking the end of year 2023/2024 academic session of the Institute.
Originally scheduled to hold between July 22nd to August 2nd, 2024, the examinations were extended by two weeks due to concerns over the nationwide “#EndBadGovernment” protest planned for August 1st.
The school management’s decision was aimed at ensuring the safety of students amidst anticipated post-protest unrest. This unexpected change caused a significant disruption, particularly for students with pre-arranged travel plans.
As the students turned the final pages of their examination scripts, the campus became engulfed in an atmosphere charged with a mix of relief and excitement. Students broke out in clusters of spontaneous, joyous parties to unwind and share in the collective joy of finishing strong. Many celebrated the ending of their programmes with matching signing out t-shirts on which their colleagues wrote their parting wishes. There was music, food, drinks and laughter. Many took pictures to capture the memories. They reminisced about the past session and shared their hopes for the future.
Amidst the celebrations, one of the students, Ms Esther Olabode, expressed her joy at successfully concluding her studies in the school and shared her desires for the pursuit of a successful career and further studies.
Also speaking, Mrs Odum, a Senior Lecturer at the Institute, expressed her immense satisfaction seeing her students successfully complete the academic year. She said that “when students finished the session, it gladdens my heart that we have passed through that journey of approximately twelve months and then for the final year students, exceptionally glad that they have seen this through and I want to believe that their stay in NIJ has imparted their lives positively not just for the bookwork but for other things to make their lives better”.
As the academic session concluded, there was some sense of accomplishment among the students as they expressed their gratitude to some of their lecturers for their dedication and guidance throughout the year. Some of the favourites among the post graduate students are Mrs Popoola, Dr. Jide Johnson, Mr Akin Ojo, Mr. Mike Osuji, Mr. Lekan Otufodunrin, Mr. Lords just to mention but a few. Many shared their aspirations for the future with some looking forward to internships while others planned to pursue advanced degrees.
As the dust settles on the 2023/2024 session, the Institute can undoubtedly be proud of itself and the students’ accomplishments.
The wheel of the institution’s commitment to nurturing future journalists, public relations experts and advertising practitioners continues to turn despite the paucity of funds and a challenging socio-political environment.
