By: Ajayi Toyyib Olabamiji and Olaoluwatide Oyedipe
Many times I wonder, how a Nigerian youth in the corner of their room, comes up with a slang, puts it up on Social Media, few more youths online embrace it, then it starts to spread like wildfire. At one point, it was “God when?”, and at another time, we had; “soro soke, werey!”. However, at the dawn of the year 2024, “No gree for anybody”, a humor-laced pidgin phrase took the airwaves.
A phrase that lived in everybody’s mouth even before the dawn of the first day in 2024. The tough experiences people had in 2023 made them see reasons to avoid leniency in 2024, and with that, everybody accepted that; “No gree for anybody” was the perfect mantra to live by in 2024.
“No gree for anybody”, meaning you should not succumb to any oppression for any reason, especially when it threatens your well-being and is detrimental to your life.
It was actually a thing of surprise one day a middle-aged lecturer said in class; “No gree for anybody”. He probably caught the youthful virus. But In the same hour, the lecturer had to sieze a student’s phone, and some set of students funnily yelled from the back seats, “No gree for anybody!”.
However, seeing the different situation where the mantra “No gree for anybody” is being used, makes it alluring, amusing, helpful, educative, and at the same time, somewhat catastrophic.
Let’s examine some references together: Not doing necessary school registrations as and when due, not taking heed when your lecturers ask you to submit assignments, or shouting back at your course reps when they are trying to pass important information, majorly as a result of experimenting what you’ve seen on social media, telling them it is a new year, and you’re not succumbing. Meanwhile, that is to your detriment, in the long run.
It is however safe to say; embedded in these somewhat careless funny trends, are concrete lessons that you can apply as a student. Trying to read for the forthcoming examination and you are finding it hard to assimilate?—No gree! Try to figure out what works for you to study effectively.
You set an alarm to wake you up in the midnight to study, but the alarm doesn’t do the job?— No gree! Try other means.
You desire to join a profitable organization in school, but your very close friend is uninterested, thereby trying to kill your interest as well?—No gree! You go ahead, let them stay back.
Your case might be, trying to bag all ‘As’ in your first year but A said no. This time, pull ‘As’ by the ears closer and say; I’ll have you this year. You’re not settling for less this year, it’s either straight ‘As’ or straight ‘As’.
In the same spirit, be intentional about your outlook on campus as a student. If anybody else would not dress to school as authorized by the management, dare to be different!
The “No gree for anybody” mantra should make you a better person rather than a joker. Yes, it is okay to want to have fun with it, but also introduce some balance. Do not succumb to anything or anybody that might give you a false stance as a student this year.
It is February already, no gree for any form of procrastination that may hinder you from achieving your set goals this year. There’s still enough time to do all the things you wish to do.
Fingers crossed, what will be the next mantra? Who is cooking? Let’s have it.
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