#BNCampusSeries: See How Fatiha Kuti Survives on N10,000 Monthly Allowance as a Student

Editor’s note: For the next 3 months, we’ll be accepting and publishing students’ experiences on Nigerian campuses through the #BNCampusSeries. Beyond the four walls of the classrooms, so many things happen on campus, and our goal is to document the various aspects of this phase. The BellaNaija Campus stories will explore academics, finances, love, school anxiety, mental wellness, relationships, and everything in between, and we invite you to be a part of our effort to share the diverse experiences of campus life.

Today, Fatiha Kuti, a student at the University of Ilorin is sharing her story with us. She narrates how she navigates her financial concerns as a student with N10,000 monthly allowance. She understands her financial limitations and she is living within her means. Read to know how she does it.

What do you do when you see your coursemates bagging certificates in online courses but, as a second-year student, you are still questioning your course choice because the allowance you receive isn’t enough to cater to your everyday needs? What do you do when you can’t request things – something as little as an umbrella – because your mother would say you are in the university and your siblings are using them? But you know you would survive, as you’ve always done even before you became an undergraduate. Or is it when you are called a minor for being the youngest in the class?

This is my story as a student at the University of Ilorin. 

When I got admission, my father asked me how much I wanted for pocket money. I knew he was going to follow his discretion but I told him N10,000 or N15,000. He asked, “Are you buying foodstuff with it or we would be giving you foodstuff?” In my first year, I was collecting less than N10,000 but it has been increased to exactly N10,000 in my second year after considering the situation of the country. An allowance I must make sure lasts me for a month, or more in case his salary is delayed. 

As a student, my only source of income is my father’s salary. By the 28th of every month, I am already monitoring my account balance, awaiting a credit alert from him. On some days, the government has another plan and the payment is delayed. So my financial life is dependent on how soon the government pays. Though I live within my capacity, there are days when cravings would come but I’d disregard them because I can’t call home in the middle of the month to say I need money if I don’t want to hear word. To be honest, I envy those who can call home any time they need money.

My roommates are already aware of my level of financial capability. I have informed them to give me a month’s notice whenever they want to plan a hangout, so I can prepare. This is also how I request money from my dad. Whenever I want to buy something important, I give him a month’s notice or I would have to use my money. I belong to some extracurricular associations and I can’t ask my dad for association dues because his response always would be, “I sent you to school to study Law and not waste your time on frivolous things that can jeopardise your academics.” But how do I change this mentality and let him know that these things also add to who I am? I would rather choose which association dues I would pay for in the month than run into a disagreement with him. There is a limit to what I can ask him, especially because he’s also concerned about paying my siblings’ fees.

Studying Law seems like an elite course but it does not reflect how I go about my finances. There was a time when the only amount of money in my account was N1,000. When I wanted to withdraw it, my bank decided to come for me and deducted money for maintenance. Ever heard of someone depositing N100 in the bank before? That was me! Omo, I had to take that N1,000 out. Then business owners would do their thing by inflating prices, especially the Keke people. Eweee! Please, how many litres of petrol do they want to use in plying the road inside the school that they are charging N100? We can’t blame them because the economic situation of the country is affecting everyone. But they should be considerate too, abeg.

For now, I’d say my financial life is getting better. I now have some people who send some money when they remember me. Financial life on campus is tasking I am hindered from doing a lot of things, but I know what my budget looks like and I try to live within my capacity.