Three Stages of Sapa Students Can Relate With!!!
I was scrolling through my timeline on Twitter and one word that kept popping was the word “sapa”. Now to some, this might not be a strange word but to others, it might. It struck me so much i had to do my research on it. What I found was not only funny but relatable. It turns out, sapa is just a word to describe the stage majority of individuals, at one point in time, have passed through. Particularly with the resumption of schools and exams approaching, it is no strange phenomenon that the word sapa will and has become frequently used in the past weeks. What then is sapa?
The above definition is what my lecturer would call scholarly source. A rather simpler definition is this :
In other words, sapa is rather experienced; “when e hold you, you go know". Last week, a tweep posted a picture of his dinner and captioned it sapa. Twitter NG repaired our “pass my neighbor" gen and dragged this fellow. Why? This tweep was eating bread and sardine for dinner!! Now permit me to say that, like most things, sapa is relative. What you call luxurious spending might be stringent for another. For example, the tweep above might have used his last funds which was why the caption was necessary. However, to most Nigerians, eating bread and sardine is a luxury; for context, a can of sardine which used to be NGN100 sells for NGN500 now. Now that we understand what sapa is, three stages of “sapa-curse" or “sapa-cidence"( coined from the word sapa and incidence) students can relate with. Fasten your seatbelts cause ride’s about to get bumpy!!!
STAGE 1: Balanced to Lessened diet.
John (not real name) was my roommate in my first year in the university. During the first week of resumption, John was the richest, cutest chef in my block. John was whipping dishes three times a day exhibiting his proficient culinary skill.
“Alex, I’m surprised you don’t know how to stir-fry. Watch me". John flipped the egg and its condiments with such accuracy as Neymar’s rainbow flicks. John was the chef!. Towards test week, i began to realize John wasn’t stir-frying any longer. By the time exams started, we had gone from stir-fry to boiling to soaking. Three square meals became one. Whoever had garri (cassava flour) was the real chef. And so, in the spirit of brotherhood, boys would gather round our block, cups in hand, garri left to soak and swell and ruminate over the papers that were bedeviling our joy. Garri, our noble companion, was our carbohydrate, protein and vitamin.
STAGE 2: The Dettol - Canoe Switch
It’s funny how much sapa-cidence coincides with the end of the month. Worse, it hits hardest when end of the month coincides with exam periods. So you have broke, hungry students preparing for exams. I witnessed the happiness accustomed with resumption. During the first week, you could tell which soap each student was using by the scent. A friend’s roommate used to boast that he used Dettol in the morning to kill germs accumulated overnight and premier cool in the evening to restore balance to his hormones after the day’s classes. The first week was a period of perfect feeding habit mixed with healthy skincare routines. However, towards exam period, only few students had soaps whose scent you could identify. At the height of the sapa period, only then and i repeat only then, do students realize that washing soap could double as bathing soap.
“Bro, i thought you used that soap to wash plates"
“Alex , forget it. Canoe soap is multipurpose. What do you think kills the 0.1% germs that Dettol refuses to kill?”
STAGE 3: The Motivational Quotes Stage
This stage is experienced at the height of the sapa period. This is where students might have worked hard to source for funds and gotten none. This is where it hits differently and calling it by its name makes more sense. You don’t say I’m broke; you say “sapa don hold me". This is where you get NGN300 to buy macaroni and then you hear the price is now NGN450. At this stage, students become motivation speakers.
“Alex, you see this life, it is nothing but short and fickle. Las las, na inside ground all of us go end"
“Every rich person was once poor; i mean look at Gates and Bezos”
“You cannot know riches if you haven’t been in ditches"
At this stage, students channel the inner psalmist in them and look up to the sky with such reverence, you’d think manna was about to fall. Students become automatically introspective. Why am I alive? What is my purpose on earth? What can I do to stop this broke-ness? Driven by a stomach that runs on a meal per day, students begin to “hustle". All it takes for the wisdom gathered during this stage to vanish is that long awaited credit alert. Then Paul, who was very stingy with spending, would suddenly remember that Aristotle once said “Chop life,problem no dey finish".
We all experience sapa in our various different ways. Remember that what you call rich might be another person’s broke. The stages above are just examples of the lowest level of sapa. As relatable as this might be for students, it is my earnest desire that we learn to spend and live within our means; because Jadesola eats shawarma twice daily doesn’t mean you should. Remember, them no dey tell person; when sapa hold you, you go know".
P.S- If you like what you read, don’t hesitate to follow me on Twitter 🙈 twitter.com/PreciousToji
