I almost gave up when my father got ill – UI first class graduate

What are the lessons you learnt throughout your academic journey at the University of Ibadan?

There are a lot of things I learnt. The first thing is to understand diverse people from different backgrounds and different orientations. So, the first thing I learnt was to accommodate everybody and to learn to live in unity with people. Also, I learnt the saying that ‘it’s not over until it’s over because there are a lot of obstacles. There were a lot of challenges, but I reprogrammed my mind in such a way that I needed to always believe that some things could still be done to change the situation.

So, only the past cannot be altered. But if you still have something in the future, we can still do something to change it. I also learnt to meet and appreciate people who are better than me. Instead of being jealous of people who are better than you, get closer to them and learn from them. By interacting with them, you will gain insights, tactics, and strategies from them that will also improve your life.

How did you feel finishing with a first class?

I feel so excited, but then it’s a mixed feeling. Graduating with a first class from the University of Ibadan is not an easy task. When I realised I was in UI, I had to live up to the standards. Now that I have achieved this academic feat, I want to continue to live up to the bar I’ve raised for myself in all my endeavours. Nothing should be short of excellence.

There were a lot of things that contributed to this feat. But then, I will just pick some basic points. I had this mindset that it’s not over until it’s over. I didn’t consider giving up. When I had obstacles, I subscribed to the opinions of getting diverse means to overcome them. For example, I took an exam which was General Studies. We called it GES 105 on agricultural studies and related topics. I prepared for the test, but I didn’t get good grades in the test. Not only me, but many people complained and became bitter about our results.

After a while, I realised all I needed to do was to read very well for the exams to cover up for my losses. Also, I focused on other courses to give me what I needed. I also knew what worked for me. I didn’t follow the crowd to do what they did; I sat down to know what was best for me. In terms of choosing courses to borrow or reading formulas to adopt, I did what was best for me. I didn’t do what others chose.

Again, I never allowed my circumstances to affect me so much. I understood I couldn’t change the past. So, I devoted my resources to attaining greater heights for the future. A lecturer told all of us that we should ensure that we read every day. Whatever we were taught, we should ensure that we read that particular topic. I took a step forward by doing this. Whatever we were taught as a topic, I would go online to research about it; and go to YouTube to watch videos.

This way, it broadened my knowledge about the topics. There were times that I went to Abuja to acquire data on behalf of one of my lecturers. For the whole week, I was in Abuja. I didn’t attend classes, but when I came back, I was teaching my colleagues what they were taught in that class because I used extra hours to read about the topics.

Another thing that helped me was speaking with my senior colleagues. They told me about the courses and lecturers before I met them. So, I was prepared. I knew what the lecturers taught and what they expected even before I met them.

At UI, there used to be reading formulas like morning-till-night, also known as MTN or till-daybreak also known as TDB, which one did you adopt?

When I was in my first year, I tried TDB, but I realised that it didn’t work for me. The first step towards self-development is self-evaluation, knowing who you are, and what works for you. I went to TDB twice with my roommate. There was a day that I went to TDB. When we got back to the hostel around 5am, I slept, and when I woke up, it was around 10 in the morning. I realised I couldn’t attend classes. My classmates called me on the phone, but I didn’t know.

I realised I could have missed tests, and in the end, I couldn’t recall or grasp anything I read that night. It was a wasted time. That was the last time I did TDB. After that time, I read whenever I felt like reading. I realised that when I woke up early in the morning, I assimilated well. There were sometimes in the afternoon that I assimilated.

Whenever we had a break in between, I went to the library to read. Most of the books I read were not even in line with my course. Seventy per cent of the books I read were on psychology, philosophy, science, history, and all of that. I only read when I know that my brain assimilates.

You mentioned that you had challenges when you started this academic feat. What were they?

Academically, I don’t think I faced any challenges. However, I had financial challenges. My dad is a pastor, but his major occupation is farming. My mum is also a farmer. I used to go home to get foodstuff or money during the breaks. Sometimes, my dad would call me to ask if I needed anything. When things were difficult at home, I wouldn’t want to demand anything. But when I got to the 300 level, my dad got sick, and that was where everything changed. He was unable to provide anything.

I was unable to get foodstuffs from home. It was unexpected. I didn’t see it coming. I tried to go into the online space to better myself but to no avail. I learnt about business marketing, copywriting, graphic design, and almost anything you can think of in the online space such as e-commerce, and information marketing. I was looking for money to shoulder my financial responsibilities, to get food, and to pay for my school fees and accommodation. So, it was a very tough time.

I also worked for my lecturers. I did speech annotation for them. I also did data set annotation. One of my lecturers also recommended me to his friends in the United States to do jobs for them. I used to go to the field to help my lecturers acquire data. When I said I went to Abuja the other time, it was Dr Lewis, one lecturer from the department who sent me to acquire data on his behalf. He paid for my flight ticket, the accommodation, the meals and everything. That was how I survived those trying times.

Yes. I am the firstborn. There are four of us; three guys and one female.

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