1/ ISSA AREMU: THE IRREPRESSIBLE COMRADE 60

It was sometime in October 1984. I had just been admitted to study Economics at the University of Port Harcourt. After processing my papers and having been registered, [...]

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2/ I proceeded to the Students Affairs Office where the halls of residence were allotted. After the fairly long process, I ended up at the Nelson Mandela Hall. My new hall of residence had 6 blocks: A to F, and each block comprised 4 floors with multiple rooms.

3/ Each room had three well-built double beds, the type you see in today’s five-star hotels and one single 6 spring bed for the ‘jambites’, as year one students were then called. To put it simply, Nelson Mandela Hall was well sought after at that time.

4/ On arriving the hall, I was assigned to block C, Room 308 by the Hall Warden. I knocked and entered the room where I met this young final year Economics student who displayed a very good command of English language and radiated knowledge all over him.

5/ I was impressed by the way he welcomed and helped onboard me in the hostel. I was also happy that he was a senior Economics student and I immediately figured he would be helpful with settling down in my academic discipline.