A few years ago, some female students came for their SIWES in our organisation. Four were from the same school—a federal polytechnic in one of the southwest states—while the remaining two were from a private polytechnic.
Days after their resumption, I engaged them in a conversation with a view to knowing their interest in their chosen profession and how we could help them to learn and understand the practical aspect of journalism and radio broadcasting.
After the conversation, I assigned them a beat to cover. It was to report a story on Nigeria's democracy that was about three weeks away then. I told them to trace the history of our democracy and to leverage materials online to prepare their report.
For the three months or so that they spent with us, they never submitted the report.
It was from one excuse to another. At a point, I was fed up with them, and I stopped asking for the report.
Other staff also complained about their poor attitude to work. Some staff complained about them not being able to carry out specific tasks assigned to them.
They couldn't write any story. They couldn't handle any gadget for radio or TV production.
They couldn't do any vox pop even in their own indigenous language. It was that bad for them.
All they came to do was to sit down and mark attendance. When they aren't pressing phones to chat, they're secretly doing TikTok videos or discussing their boyfriends.
Since they never showed interest in learning, despite forcing them, they ended up leaving without acquiring the basic practical knowledge that could complement what they've learnt in school.
For the other two students from a private polytechnic, both of them (a lady and a guy) were very inquisitive and always ready to learn.
After they completed the three months, they both came back for another one-year industrial training and were accepted.
Just last week, one of them got an offer as a studio assistant. Why? He has proven himself that he has built capacity and that he could become a team player in the organisation. That is how opportunity comes the way of some people.
For young undergraduate students here, don't joke with your internship; that could be a platform for you to start and build your professional career.
Be diligent and build capacity; you never can tell who is watching you.
Have a wonderful week ahead.
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