Rema: Why I abandoned UNILAG admission

Rema says he abandoned his admission into the University of Lagos (UNILAG) because of the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

In January 2022, the singer, born Divine Ikubor, announced he gained admission to study at UNILAG.

According to him, the decision was based on his mother’s insistence that he should get a degree from a varsity.

But a month into his admission, ASUU embarked on an eight-month strike. It was suspended on October 14.

Speaking in an interview, the singer said he became disinterested to continue with school due to the industrial action.

“I got admission last year but I bailed on it. I bailed on it because they went on strike,” he said.

The interviewer inquired to know the name of the varsity, to which the ‘Calm Down’ crooner said “the University of Lagos. In fact, all schools went on strike in Nigeria.”

“So they are back but it took a couple of months. But I wanted to really like strategise how I was going to do part-time schooling and touring but the whole strike made it look awkward,” he added.

“It was like a glitch so I just had to move on from it.”

On his mum’s reaction, Rema said she was not worried about his decision to ditch school for music.

“My mum is fine with it. She travels with me too. She was in London with me but it was quite cold so she had to run back home,” he said.

Rema has continued to enjoy fame in the country’s music landscape with strings of hit projects.

In 2020, the musician recalled how his mother’s support was essential after he lost his father and brother.