Across Nigerian universities, the sight has become almost predictable: fresh graduates, thrilled to have completed their final exams, flood campus walkways in white shirts and jeans, surrounded by friends armed with permanent markers.
What follows is a frenzy of ink-stained inscriptions, signatures, scribbles, caricatures, and sometimes vulgar comments written boldly across their shirts. For many, this ritual of “signing out” marks the beginning of freedom after years of academic struggle.
The culture, which began as a symbolic gesture of solidarity and camaraderie, has over the years taken on a life of its own. What was once a modest celebration has morphed into something more excessive, with some graduates now treating it as a carnival with loud music, heavy drinking, expensive outfits, and in extreme cases, reckless parades on motorcycles and cars.
There is no doubt that students deserve to celebrate the end of their academic journey. Years of lectures, assignments, strikes, and exams naturally call for relief and jubilation. However, the question we must ask is: at what cost? The excesses of today’s sign-out culture risk overshadowing the very essence of the milestone. Instead of honouring the achievement with dignity, the practice now often encourages wastefulness, disorder, and in some cases, indecency. The once symbolic shirt, which should serve as a keepsake filled with heartfelt signatures and words of encouragement, has turned into a canvas for vulgarity, sometimes bearing offensive messages that diminish the prestige of the moment.
As someone deeply invested in the values of discipline, modesty, and responsibility, I believe we need a cultural rethink. Celebration should never translate into chaos. Graduates, after years of learning, should embody the values of responsibility, moderation, and vision. I recall attending a sign-out ceremony where a student’s shirt bore the words: “No more suffering, straight to enjoyment for life.” While it sounded playful, it struck me as a worrying mindset, one that equates academic achievement with entitlement to instant gratification rather than a launchpad for service, hard work, and nation-building. This is the kind of thinking our education system must work against.
We must begin to sanitize and sensitize the culture of sign-out celebrations. This does not mean banning students from expressing joy, but rather redirecting the practice into something meaningful and value-driven. Universities, parents, and student leaders can all play a role in reshaping this tradition. Instead of shirts, students could sign yearbooks, scrapbooks, or framed class portraits, keepsakes that can be preserved and cherished for years without embarrassment. Where shirts remain the choice, schools can encourage students to write uplifting messages, motivational quotes, or words of wisdom, ensuring the shirt serves as a positive reminder of their journey. Universities can also provide designated spaces and organized events for sign-out activities, helping prevent disorderly parades that sometimes endanger lives. Imagine if, alongside signing out, students planted a tree on campus or donated books to the library. Such gestures would leave a legacy behind for future students.
The “signing out” culture is not inherently bad. In fact, it is a beautiful tradition that symbolizes unity, friendship, and shared struggle. But like many cultural practices, it requires moderation and reform to align with the values we want our graduates to carry into society. Celebration must be balanced with responsibility. If our universities become known for producing graduates who celebrate recklessly rather than reflectively, we lose an opportunity to showcase education as a tool for refinement and nation-building. The time has come to rethink how we celebrate milestones in our higher institutions, not to erase tradition, but to elevate it.
