These slangs used to be popular among Nigerian students; they’ve now become mainstream culture
Student lingos used to be confined to the campus gates. Still, many catchphrases from hostels and lecture theatres have now crept into the daily conversations across major Nigerian cities.
Words born in halls and hostels now appear in everyday chat, adverts, and headlines because students mix humour with creativity and social shortcuts that spread quickly.
Short videos, social feeds, and group chats amplify campus phrases until they feel familiar across cities. These expressions help people crack jokes, explain themselves, and signal their identity quickly, and they often carry attitudes that younger generations recognise.
Below are seven student slang terms that started in schools and now shape how Nigerians joke, argue, and signal status.
- Flex
Flex began as showcasing style or small wins, such as a new phone, but it now encompasses anything done to impress others.
Students used it for classmates who arrived with fresh fits or snacks, and the term moved into social media, where people flaunted achievements from side hustles to travel. It is teasing and aspirational at once.
- Over flex
Over flex is the polite roast for someone who tries too hard to impress and ends up looking silly. The phrase captures campus energy where reputation matters and people keep each other in check with quick jabs.
It spread through memes and short videos, and now surfaces in office group chats when someone is being particularly annoying.
- Chop life
Chop life originally referred to living large or spending on enjoyment, especially after receiving a paycheck. Students used it for celebratory splurges on food outings or parties, and the idea of choosing to enjoy now resonated widely.
Today, it appears in adverts, songs, and casual speech as a shorthand for giving oneself a treat.
- Na so e be
This phrase means that it is how it is and started as a resigned campus shrug when things went sideways. It expresses acceptance of minor daily glitches from missed lectures to power outages.
Its plainness and comic timing helped it cross into the mainstream culture, and everyday replies that close a conversation neatly.
- Make we gist
‘Make we gist’ simply means inviting someone for a chat or catch-up, and it was a staple for students organising hangouts and sharing gossip.
The phrase is warm and inclusive, which helped it move beyond campus into workplaces and social groups where people invite others to chat about life and opportunities.
- Wahala
Wahala stood for trouble or stress long before student slang absorbed it, but campuses remixed the word into playful complaint and dramatic storytelling.
Students use it to amplify annoyances from assignment deadlines to hostel fights, and the expression is now common in headlines, captions, and casual venting across social media.
- Sharp guy or sharp belle
‘Sharp guy’ and ‘sharp belle’ label people who are slick, stylish, or quick-witted, and started as playful campus compliments.
They celebrate street smarts and presentation, and the phrases have migrated to broader usage as influencers and creators adopted them to praise looks, skills, and hustle energy.
Credit: Pulseng
