NONGOVMEDIA

At the University of Ilorin, hair was never just hair. In a conservative Muslim city, the university enforced strict rules: women were expected to cover, men were forbidden certain styles, and all students were banned from coloring their hair. Self-expression became regulated, policed, and politicized.

Yet, like all restrictions, rules inspired creativity — and quiet defiance. My friend Tolu, for example, would bleach his hair blonde on Friday afternoons, after classes ended for Jum'ah prayers. All weekend, he lived in his chosen color, his chosen self. By Sunday night, he would dye it back to black in preparation for Monday classes — returning to conformity until the next Friday.

This series documents those small rebellions — the ways students bent rules to assert individuality, identity, and joy in the face of conformity. Hair became a canvas for protest, for selfhood, for the insistence that even under pressure, style and identity will find a way to break through.