So today being Sunday, after a wonderful service with the Christian Community on Campus (CCC), I decided to take a little walk and explore places around campus I wouldn't have the time to visit on a normal weekday cause of my busy classes and lectures. The serenity & quietness that comes with Sunday was an added advantage as it helped me clear my head a bit as there wasn't much people & noise inside the campus unlike every other day.
I grabbed the opportunity to take some pictures of the insides of the great University of Benin (UNIBEN) for your viewing pleasure.
Since today is Sunday & most people go to church to worship, I took a picture of one of the only two permanent churches inside the campus; Saint Albert Catholic Church.
Photo credit - Me
This is where a great number of UNIBEN students worship, more so as the school has disbanded more than 98% of the campus fellowships indefinitely. It has an inner chapel for praying, a reading room, an events hall & neat restrooms (I can testify of the latter 😅). In every sense, St. Albert church is like a spiritual home to many students & remains indispensable as far as the campus is concerned.
The next place I know you would like to see is a prestigious faculty known for it's Student's impeccable uniform of black suits with white shirts. The faculty of Law!
Photo credit - Me
This is the faculty of future Barristers, SANs & Judges of tomorrow. Many UNIBEN students in other faculty seem, for some reason, to think Law students are proud and arrogant with a terrible condescending attitude towards non-law students.
In my own opinion, I think it's just a bit of jealousy that brings such imaginations. I have many law students & they are just as friendly and engaging as any other student you may meet on the way.
Although some claim there is credibility to the rumours about the arrogance of the law students, I'm yet to prove nor disprove it, & honestly, I couldn't care less.
My concern today is the beauty of this beloved faculty which you see above, & that's all that matters today. 😉
Another very interesting place I would like to show you is the famous JUNE 12 arena. I feel this should even have been the first picture. It's practically the center & heart of the University of Benin.
As small as it may seem, students can't do without this place. Why???
Photo credit - Me
Well, for starters, the building you see above houses the SUG offices, the SUG parliamentary hall, & a host of important storage compartments. The parliamentary hall can be rented for 2k an hour for conferences, prayers or events by meeting the SUG Clerk. The SUG Excos normally have their meetings in this building, and at night time, this arena can be so so busy. Students walking to and fro either to night class, withdrawing from the ATM or doing one activity or the other.
Next picture? Get ready to see the second most popular hostel inside the campus, HALL 3! Also known as the Aminu Kano Hall (but no one ever calls it that anyway).
Photo credit - Me
This is the place of humble beginnings. This boys hostel is a place of training for any naive or uninformed fresher who hasn't learnt the ups and downs in school. It has 6 blocks, each block has 4 floors, each floor has 10 rooms, and each room has 8 bed spaces. So yeah, the place is quite the community. But trust me, there is never a full moment in this jungle as we call it. As a UNIBEN guy, if you go through all your stay in the school without spending at least a night in this hostel, be rest assured your University experience wasn't complete.
The last pic of the day is a road dreaded with utmost fright by all and sundry in UNIBEN campus. The Arrow Street!
Photo credit - Me
This road brings to mind the saying, "> Only fools dare thread where Angels do not." That is because when ever it's arrow time, you would have to be either very brave, or very foolish to walk on this road. At this point I think I should probably explain what arrowing means. You see that block pointed out there? that's Block B of Hall 3, yes the same Hall 3 in the previous picture. During arrow hour, alot of what most people would call jobless boys would crowd that staircase and heavily insult anybody that dares walk past that road be you friend, foe, lecturer, Man'O'War, Red Cross etc they just don't care. I remember when they told one boy going on his way that his GPA (Grade point average) could not flash MTN to MTN, I was mortified on the boy's behalf because alot of people heard that even from the neighboring hostel (Hall 2) which is the most popular by the way.
Word on the street is that is was the popular Nigerian comedian, Basketmouth that started the arrowing business while he was still a student in UNIBEN many years ago. How true that is, I can't tell.
So that's it guys, as a bonus, here is a selfie of I & some of my boys after soccer training later in the evening
Photo credit - Me