BY MOSES IKEBELI

Houdegbe North American University Benin (HNAUB) which is located at Republic of Benin, Cotonou to be precise, is a university that boasts of high international standard when it comes to education. The university was established by DR. Octave Houdegbe who is the president of the varsity, and also a former government minister of the Central African Republic.

The university is bilingual, which means before a student graduates, he or she should be able to speak both French and English languages. 85 percent of the students in HNAUB are from Nigeria, while students from other countries make up the remaining student body.

Gaining admission to the university is like gaining entry to any university abroad, a student looking to gain admission must have 5 credit passes required for the course in which the student will be looking to study. For instance a student that wishes to study Mass Communication, must have at least credit passes in Math’s and English and three other art subjects before he can be considered for admission.

Many Nigerian students use this to their advantage as students who have this requirement, but have failed to gain entry into Nigerian universities due to issues of JAMB and post UME rush down to HNAUB to gain admission.

Every year, the majority of students that gain admission into the school are from Nigeria, parents bring their children from as far as Sokoto, Jos and even Maiduguri to seek admission into the varsity. Although the fees can be said to be a bit on the high side, students keep trooping in from Nigeria especially, as it is believed the Nigerian students have a lot of money and are highly respected on campus.

The students from Nigeria put on a show of wealth, most of them drive expensive cars, rent houses off campus and use all sorts of expensive phones including the latest blackberry handsets. As a student in HNAUB, owning a blackberry is of paramount importance, phone numbers are hardly exchanged among students as blackberry pins take over phone numbers.

However, in terms of academics the Nigerian students still deliver as is often the case, and after graduation, the students from Nigeria return to proceed with their NYSC. Recently, exchange programmes have been on the rise in HNAUB, as other universities from America strike partnership with the school.

The school has a lot to offer, unlike in Nigeria where summer is mainly for students who had carryovers from the previous semester, summer sessions in HNUAB are counted as full semesters for students who wish to round up their studies in school on time, this means that a course of 4yrs can be run in 3yrs, just like the universities abroad.

Nigerian students in HNAUB dominate proceedings both on campus and off campus, activities organized by the school and by the students’ body is always actively attended by the students from Nigeria. Social gatherings see the Nigerian students make active participation, celebrities from Nigeria are often called to grace events organized by the student body.

The likes of naetoC who is a rap superstar and singer, durella aka “king of the zanga”, saucekid the carolina crooner” and Karen Igho, winner of the prestigious Big Brother Africa have all been to HNAUB for one event or the other, courtesy of the Nigerian students in the school.