On the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) campus, students are increasingly turning their skills, creativity, and personal interests into sources of income. Between lectures, assignments, and examinations, they produce goods, attend to customers, advertise their products, process orders, and negotiate sales. Their businesses vary from pastries and clothing to digital services and other forms of trading. Despite the challenges, these students are driven by the need for financial independence and the desire to build an income-generating venture without compromising their education.
For many students, entrepreneurship is not driven by ambition alone, but by the increasing cost of education and everyday living. The financial pressure on their families has made it essential for some young people to generate additional income to meet their personal needs. Grace Misimadji Simeon, a 300-level Mass Communication student, started a pastry business in 2025 to become less dependent on her parents and create an income for herself. Her father provided the initial capital and paid for her skills training, giving her the opportunity to turn her skills into a practical means of earning money while remaining in school.
Running the pastry business has given Grace greater control over what she produces, how she markets her products, and the amount she earns from her efforts. Unlike depending solely on a fixed allowance, entrepreneurship gives her the opportunity to determine the prices of her products and make a profit from her sales. Her experience illustrates the importance of family support in helping young people establish a small business and gain practical experience in production, customer relations, pricing, and financial management.
However, combining entrepreneurship with university education comes with difficulties. Students who operate businesses must constantly divide their attention between their customers and academic responsibilities. Umar, a 400-level Medical Laboratory Science student, knows this challenge firsthand, having ventured into crypto marketing, YouTube automation, and buying and selling clothing materials, jewelry, and gadgets. He finds it difficult to divide his time effectively between his academic work and business activities, often sacrificing significant amounts of his sleeping time.
The pressure of balancing school, business, and rest has affected Umar's sleeping pattern, raising concerns about the impact on students' physical and mental wellbeing. For Catherine Temitayo Adeyemo, an Accounting student who sells clothes online, the relationship between business and academics has been complex. While business responsibilities sometimes create additional pressure, the experience has also helped her become more disciplined, responsible, and conscious of how she uses her time.
Catherine's business has provided an opportunity to apply some classroom knowledge to real-life situations, giving her practical exposure that may not always be available through academic lessons alone. However, the benefits do not eliminate the challenges, as periods of heavy orders, deliveries, and customer messages can become stressful and consume time that would otherwise be devoted to studying or resting. Her experience reflects the broader reality of student entrepreneurship, where running a business can build valuable skills but also become a source of pressure.
Despite these challenges, student entrepreneurship is increasingly becoming a practical avenue through which young people develop skills and create opportunities while still in university. The experience raises a wider question about whether students can successfully maintain businesses without sacrificing their academic responsibilities or wellbeing. Effective time management may provide a solution, but the reality is that unexpected orders, customer demands, examinations, and academic deadlines can sometimes occur at the same time.
Key points
- Student entrepreneurs at UNIMAID are driven by the need for financial independence and the desire to build an income-generating venture without compromising their education.
- The experience of student entrepreneurship can have both positive and negative impacts on students' academic performance and wellbeing.
- Effective time management is crucial for students to balance their business and academic responsibilities.
