As an undergraduate and a freelancer, I had to combine work with studies, as a lot of people do here in the east, and I would later realize that I wasn’t alone in this in Abakaliki.
I had the normal student set up a reading desk and a chair, which wasn’t comfortable even for reading.
Power was another issue; the low current we were getting where I stayed off campus then was way more terrible than the chair I had. The only thing I could do with that power was to charge the rechargeable lamp I was to use for reading, which had turned to the only light I had in the house. Because of this, I always had to either take my laptop and go to where we make photocopies of our notes to see if I could charge the laptop there and also do a little work, or a few times you would see someone there who would allow you to stay there while your laptop was charging to do a little work, but most of the time you won’t, and the generator was never on for more than 30 mins or 1 hour, and the power you get was never enough for you to use and do anything tangible. This was a few years ago.
The reality today isn’t much different; freelancers, remote workers, professionals, and even students are still grappling with these same issues I battled then. What then do these people do? Several persons have explored using cafes or restaurants to do their work, but those places give you power at a very steep price; you either have to buy a meal or drinks that you are not sure you need at that point in time, or you are stylishly told to leave the place. Most times, even if you buy the food or drink, you are still asked to leave after a while to create space for the next customer. There are even some spots that don’t even allow you to come with your laptops.
Going to a hotel wasn’t an option, but from those that had gone to a hotel to work, who shared their experiences, it was either the place was not comfortable and the AC made them sleep more than they thought they would, or there wasn’t a comfortable desk and chair for them to stay and do the work they had planned, or the noise coming from the bar and other areas impeded productivity.
Apart from the power issues, another issue I faced personally was the internet. If I wanted to be productive, I had to stay awake up till midnight because that was when the internet was more stable and I could access information better. This was the same thing across the board, and because of the limited power, some nights would be productive while some nights would be very unproductive. This caused massive brain drain for me personally and for others that I had talked to about it.
There was also a common issue: finding a comfortable position to sit and work. Most of these spaces had a bench where customers were to sit and wait and a table where they placed their desktop computers, printers, and photocopy machines. They never mind as long as you aren’t disturbing their workflow or their customers.
All these happened to be some 5-8 years ago, and the situation isn’t much different today. The rising cost of living has made a lot of those spaces close down, as they were not making enough, and students like me who are freelancers are being forced to drop freelancing for school or focus on school and leave other activities like freelancing. This impedes the development of the student as a person and the overall improvement of their lives socially, academically, and mentally.
As a freelancer, student, or professional, having the right workspace puts you in the right frame of mind and opens up your mind to ideas, solutions, and processes that you may find a hard time getting if you were worrying about your workspace.
This is why at Meluora HUB we have created a co-working space where anyone and everyone can come in and free their mind of any worry and focus on whatever tasks they want to focus on. With our spacious hot desks and private offices, stable internet, and constant power supply, we are the space Abakaliki students, freelancers, techies, remote workers, and professionals have been waiting for, and we are currently open and giving a free 7 days to those who come in now. Visit us at Top Floor Jason Plaza at 18 Brackenbury Street, off Water Works Road, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
