“Before I came to Manchester, I was a student at University of Ibadan. In fact, it was in the second semester of my third year that I took a brave step to come to England and start my education all over. This was in September 2011. I know many people would think that it’s an insane decision to leave the University of Ibadan having reached that point in my education. I got my Higher National Diploma (HND), in Business Management from the Manchester International College and then had my degree in Business with Economics from the University of Salford, Manchester. I had both my HND and degree in four years.
Because I had to pay by myself especially from my second year in College till I graduated at the University of Salford, paying my fees was a struggle. I had to combine full-time work with my education and, honestly, it was really hard. The truth is that it is extremely difficult to combine jobs here and I won’t encourage anyone to do the same. I only did it because I had to pay £12,000 as school fees all by myself so at the time. Every penny I could make and save mattered to me. However, I was really helped by some percentages off my school fees given to me by the school in my final year and during my Masters program too.
People assume that because you are abroad, you can get anything you want easily. No, you don’t! Around here, no one gives a freebie. You work hard for everything you get. There are jobs in the UK but getting them is another issue altogether. It all depends on your qualifications. If you have qualifications along health care, then you might get a job on time and your job is mostly on a 24-hour rotation basis. However, if your qualification is management, then you have to be outstanding because that is a highly competitive field. Other professionals work mostly 9-5 or 8-4. It is those outside these professional job circles that hustle hard and try to combine jobs.
Unlike Ibadan where you have so much bubbly life all around and you have people that you can relate and spend time with, it is a different ballgame here in the UK. Everyone here is stuck up, everyone minds their own business. Everyone is busy living their lives and you’re not a part of someone else’s life. So, here, you’ve got to contend with being alone. There were times when I really wanted to hang out with people and just socialize but it was just very difficult to make out that time or find people willing to make out that time. The quietness and the mind-your-business attitude can lead to depression.
In Manchester, there is no raining season/dry season. It rains anytime. However, unlike the Ibadan rains that could be heavy, it rains gently and lightly here. This makes the weather always cool. Electricity here is constant and the road networks are awesome. I must say too that Manchester is way neater than Ibadan. The neatness, the quietness and the orderliness: these are sharp observations you make once you set foot in England.
Transport in Manchester is by trams, taxis, buses and trains and they all runs on timetable; if you miss your bus by a minute, you have to wait for the next. In my early years here, I missed my bus and I’d just have to wait for the next to come but I made sure I never missed my trains. On the other hand, in Ibadan there is no timing for cabs and danfos; just get to the bus-stop and hop into one that is heading in your direction. I miss that life; I miss the danfos and the taxi drivers.
In all, my stay here in Manchester has been a journey full of testimonies. Today, I live and work in Manchester.”
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