The swirling tales of sordid experiences on the nation’s university campuses explode in a new incandescent glow in Diary of a Campus Girl, a gripping production of the Theatre and Film Studies Department of NnamdiAzikiwe University, Awka, under the competent leadership of Prof. Tracie Uto-Ezeajugh who is also the producer of this flick.

In this cinematic depiction of the lived experiences of a typical Nigerian female undergraduate in the 21^st Century, we are not forewarned of the surprises that crouch in its simple narrative structure and in the disarming smiles of the film’s brilliant cast that shimmers with life from one scene to another. Rather, we are led like bees in trail of the scent of nectar through the labyrinth of the everyday experience of Nigerian students to confront the major themes of the entire university system. We are pleasantly prodded to observe through a carefully woven plot, the lurid lifestyle of a typical Runs-Girl (the devil-may-care campus sex merchant), the sexual harassment of our female students, the predatory lifestyle of lecherous and greedy lecturers who are no longer content with sexual gratification for marks but also want a pile of cash as the icing on the cake as well as the dangers of life on the fast lane and of course, abortion. But perhaps more importantly, we are also subtly reminded that more often than not, parents play a role in laying a faulty foundation in the educational careers of their children by foisting their own career choices on them and leading them off the course that would have made for an enjoyable university education and a fulfilling career afterwards. Indeed, Dairy of a Campus Girl does not spare anybody as it also points an accusing finger at the university leadership, prodding it to reform itself by standing up to the minimum standards of moral rectitude and setting a plangent tone for academic excellence. Truth is; these themes are not only contemporary but very unlikely to go away in a hurry.

Stripped to the bone, Dairy of a Campus Girl is essentially the riveting story of Cynthia Edison; a stunningly glorious female engineering student whose life is derailed from the onset by the misplaced expectations of her parents. In so doing, Cynthia’s parents swiftly lay a foundation of misery and anguish for their daughter who nurse strong feelings about her natural belongingness to the arts. The screen writer adopts the simple narrative approach of a Dairy to tell an all-Nigerian-university-girl story and pulls it off nicely.

As Cynthia introduces us to her world through the daily entries in her diary, we are prodded to observe through her eyes, the unfolding scenario that splashes itself across our vision. Cynthia’s narrative voice cuts clearly through the slew of images to establish itself in our reckoning, easing us into a receptive mood for the narrative. In the opening scenes, we encounter Cynthia, swaddled in the love of her parents at her matriculation, glowing with so much happiness and hope. The future looks bright. She’s finally in the university. But we sense a hint of trouble when she voices a mild protest against her parents’ open declaration of their preference for sciences. We soon come face to face with the prelude to one of the major themes of the film when the narrative deftly polarizes the cast in two camps representing the forces of good and evil. In Dr. Okongwu, we see the virtuous university don whose main obsession is in building the future by moulding the students in character and learning. On the opposite side, we see Dr. Aladighinma, the archetypal nemesis of the Nigerian university system; greedy, mercantile and randy. He is the scourge of the Nigerian female student; ravenous and unrestrained, using cheap marks to bait them into sex and strip them off their pocket money or worse still, stampede them into prostitution as the case may be. We are also deftly introduced to Ijeoma Martins, Cynthia’s roommate and counterpoise who forced her way into the campus with results from an examination that she did not take. Ijeoma Martins is the very antithesis of good breeding and scholarship; the quintessential Runs-Girl who has neither a thirst for scholarship nor a moral restraint on her tendencies. Again, the screen writer succeeds in placing two diametrically opposed characters before us and sets the stage for an engaging entertainment.

From Ijeoma’s failed attempt to seduce Dr. Okongwu and Cynthia’s stout resistance of the illicit overtures from Dr. Aladighinma, we brace up for mind games as the two young women with opposing outlook on life clash in their room. The sparks fly as the girls interrogate each other’s approaches to the challenge of bagging a university degree. We see sparkles of brilliant acting as both characters hoist themselves firmly in their roles, showing craftsmanship, screen presence and raw talent in good measures. But Cynthia soon returns to her diary with some introspection and self-interrogation as the narrative voice announces that she is in her third year and must figure out how to graduate from school. We watch with keen interest as Cynthia Edison struggles to fit into a world envisioned by her parents but the harder her struggle, the farther she drifts away from happiness and fulfilment. Cynthia’s world becomes bleak, meaningless and hollow. The joy that lit up her face on matriculation day fizzles out like a raison in the sun. The audience is left to ask some rhetorical questions of its own. Is it possible to savour the joys of scholarship as a Nigerian student? Are some parents to blame for some of the dilemma of the Nigerian university system?

Then, swiftly, we are entreated to the battle of wits that ensues when the two villains, Ijeoma and Dr. Aladighinma meet to transact their illicit business of cash for marks. The acting in this segment is superb as the two characters display frightening shades of villainy to hint at the rot in the university system. But the attempts of benevolent Dr. Okongwu to rescue and redirect Cynthia faltering academic footsteps restores our hope in the capacity of the university system to redeem itself, eventually. With disarming simplicity, we are reminded that the university can still build characters and redirect careers. Similarly, our faith in the possibility of our young women to reclaim their pride and shape the future is also signposted by Ijeoma’s unexpected intervention in preventing Cynthia from dropping out of school in frustration following her seeming helplessness in the face of increasing sexual demands on her. A great irony plays itself out here as Ijeoma the Runs-Girl turns the unlikely saviour of a frustrated academic quest with one single act of goodness.

Nevertheless, Ijeoma’s ghastly death after a wild night out with one of her customers is a brutal warning to all Runs-Girls and intending ones that life on the fast lane has a predictable end – immediate pain and misery or a lifetime of regrets. As her friends and school mates gather to mourn her, they are forced to re-appraise her life and draw their own conclusions on the likely end of a life of debauchery. The director demonstrates a clear presence of mind in making one of the minor characters boldly remind others that Runs-Girl is in reality, the new face of prostitution.

And when the university leadership finally rises to the occasion with the emergence of a new Vice Chancellor, the school has hit the bend in the river that signals an imminent rebirth. We are faintly reminded that since a fish starts to rot from the head, it might be necessary for the university to seek self-regeneration as an important first step to redeeming the system - a bad university is an unlikely breeding ground for great students and scholars. This point is pungently made by Dr. Okongwu when he says “evil thrives when good men do nothing.” Eminent novelist, Chukwuemeka Ike had firmly placed this responsibility on the university leadership in his phenomenal book, The Naked Gods. But Dairy of a Runs Girl pushes the envelope a little further!

The inexorable clash of good and evil as symbolised by the physical combat between Dr. Okongwu and Dr. Aladighinma draws us closer to the resolution of the central conflict of this movie but not before the ultimate humiliation of the predatory Aladighinma by a hitherto naïve Cynthia. In a move that should surprise the audience, Cynthia Edison shrugs off the trauma of the gruesome death of her roommate and devices a scheme to drive Aladighinma to his waterloo. She lures him into a sex trap in a hotel room where her friends are all waiting to take their pound of flesh from the fiendish lecturer. And worse still, she manipulates him into producing an incriminating evidence to show that he is actually compromising the integrity of examinations in the school. The humiliation of Aladighinma who represents the last strand of evil is a fitting epilogue to a highly didactic film packed to the hilt with a load of moral lessons. A fitting regimen for Nigerian undergraduates, if ever there is one!

In all, Diary of a Campus Girl serves us a diet of magnificent acting, brilliant camera works, great improvisations and admirable screenwriting. The entire cast comes off convincingly in their respective roles as Cynthia Edison (real name Precious Linus) proves beyond reasonable doubt that in her, Nollywood has a very bright future. The second year student of Theatre and Film Studies who adores Nollywood icon, Patience Ozokwo, has an uncanny ability to live on screen. Ijeoma Martins and Dr. Aladighinma also hold a great deal of promise!

And the final truth is; Dairy of a Campus Girl may well be the definitive mirror of the Nigerian school system. It shows in telling simplicity, the culpability of everyone from parents to students, lecturers and the university leadership in the plummeting standards in the system. But perhaps more important is the fact that it also subtly reminds us through the masterful resolution of all the conflicts in the film, that we can still retrieve ourselves from the pit into which we have fallen as a people. That this film is an experimental work by university undergraduates makes it all the more exhilarating!

•James Eze, whose photo appears alongside this movie review, can be reached via eziokwubundu@gmail.com