How To Be Smart In School Without Studying Hard: 6 Secrets For Nigerian Students
Let’s be honest. Nobody actually likes reading for ten hours straight.
We all know that one student in class. The one who never seems to be holding a book, is always pressing their phone, yet when the CA (Continuous Assessment) results come out, they top the class. It’s annoying, right?
You probably think they are using “juju” or they are just naturally gifted geniuses.
Here is the truth: they aren’t necessarily smarter than you. They just know how to be smart in school without studying like a slave. They understand that passing WAEC, NECO, or that wicked 300-level course isn’t about how long you read. It’s about how well your brain captures information.
If you are tired of “crashing” and burning out without seeing results, you need a new strategy. I’m going to show you how to hack your grades without losing your mind.
1. The “Listen and Link” Strategy
The biggest mistake Nigerian students make is zoning out in class because they plan to “read it later.”
That is a trap.
When you say “I will read it later,” you are doubling your workload. You sit in class for 2 hours, learn nothing, and then go home to spend another 3 hours trying to understand what the lecturer said. That is 5 hours wasted.
Instead, use the class time to do the work.
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Ditch the back seat: Sit where the teacher can see you. It forces you to stay awake.
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Don’t write everything: If you are busy dictating notes like a secretary, your brain isn’t processing the information. Write down keywords.
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Link it to real life: If your Biology teacher is talking about osmosis, think about soaking Garri. If your Government teacher talks about “Checks and Balances,” think about how your mom checks your dad’s spending.
When you link school topics to things you see every day in Nigeria, you won’t need to cram. You will just remember.
2. Use The Feynman Technique (Teach Your Guys)
Have you ever noticed that you remember the lyrics to a Wizkid or Burna Boy song faster than you remember your Chemistry definitions?
That’s because you sing the songs. You repeat them. You explain the lyrics to your friends.
You can do the same for your books. This is called the Feynman Technique.
Don’t just read silently. Grab a friend, your sibling, or even talk to the mirror. Try to explain the topic you just learned in simple, broken English. If you can explain the concept of “Demand and Supply” to your grandmother in the village and she understands, then you have mastered it.
If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t know it yet. Go back and check your notes. This method saves you hours of staring at a textbook. We actually discussed how to simplify complex topics in our guide on how to prepare for an exam in a short time, which breaks this down further.
3. Past Questions Are Your Cheat Code
I cannot stress this enough. If you are writing JAMB, WAEC, or Post-UTME and you are not using past questions, you are playing with fire.
Examiners are lazy.
They repeat questions. They might change the numbers or twist the English a bit, but the concept is usually the same.
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Don’t just test yourself: Use past questions to study.
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Look for patterns: Is there a topic in Physics that appears every single year? Focus on that.
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Ignore the noise: Don’t waste time reading topics that haven’t appeared in the exam for the last 10 years just because it’s in the textbook.
Be strategic. You can find free resources and verified past questions on platforms like MySchool.ng or the JAMB official website. These sites give you insight into how questions are set, so you aren’t surprised on D-Day.
4. Active Recall Over Passive Reading
Most students do “passive reading.”
This is when you open your textbook, read a page, nod your head, and flip to the next page. You feel like you are learning, but your brain is actually sleeping. Five minutes later, if I ask you what you read, you will start stammering.
Stop doing that.
Instead, do this:
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Read a paragraph.
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Close the book.
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Ask yourself: “What did I just read?”
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Say the answer out loud.
This forces your brain to work. It’s harder than just staring at the page, but it cuts your study time in half. You will remember more in 30 minutes of active recall than 2 hours of passive reading. This is one of the 10 effective study habits every student should develop if you want to stop failing courses.
5. Rest is a Weapon (Why TDB Fails)
You see students drinking coffee and soaking their feet in cold water just to do TDB (Till Day Break).
Let me tell you, TDB is a scam for most people.
Your brain needs sleep to save information. Imagine typing a long essay on your phone and forgetting to press “Save” before the battery dies. That is what happens when you study all night without sleep. You wake up feeling heavy, your eyes are paining you, and you have forgotten 40% of what you read.
It is better to sleep for 6 hours and read with a fresh brain for 1 hour, than to read for 7 hours with a tired brain.
Prioritize your health. Don’t burnout. As we always say, health is better than wealth, and in this case, a healthy brain is better than a crashed GPA.
6. Know Your Lecturer (For University Students)
If you are in a Nigerian university, you know that passing a course is sometimes about knowing what the lecturer wants.
Does your lecturer like long stories? Give it to them. Do they hate “cram and pour”? Use your own words. Do they repeat their test questions in the exam? Find the test script.
Being smart in school isn’t just about book knowledge; it’s about emotional intelligence. Study the person marking your script as much as you study the course material.
According to Counselling Africa, understanding the psychology of your learning environment is key to academic success without stress.
Final Thoughts
Being smart in school without studying for endless hours is possible. It requires you to be awake in class, test yourself constantly, and rest well.
Don’t be among the “Cram and Pour” gang. Be the strategist. Work smart, so you can have time for football, movies, and sleep, while still bagging those A’s.
