"Many students have faced and continue to face academic challenges. Some have taken the JAMB UTME multiple times - four, five, six times or more - and still haven't given up. Others have finally found success after repeated attempts, while some have lost hope and have stories worth sharing. I'm Comrade Ola', and I've decided to share my own story to inspire those currently facing similar challenges. If I had read stories like mine when I was struggling to gain admission, I would have found the motivation I needed early. So, I hope you find inspiration in my journey." - Comrade Ola
FROM OKE IRAGBIJI TO ASPIRATIONS BEYOND:THE GENESIS OF A DREAM
The halls of Oke Iragbiji Grammar School echoed with the dreams of students whose journeys typically concluded with a Senior Secondary School Certificate.
An O'Level certificate was a badge of honor, and it was my initial ambition too. But in 2018, destiny had other plans, ushering me onto an unexpected path. I registered for my first O'Level examination, NECO, in 2018. I gave it my best effort. Seeing my cousins at the Federal Polytechnic, Offa, and Polytechnic Iree, combined with my passion for sports and journalism and admiration for On-Air Personalities like Olayinka Ibikunle, Sesan Omikunle, and Ademola Atanda, my dream was to pass my NECO and get admitted to one of these Polytechnics in the South West to study Mass Communication.
Immediately after my NECO exams that same year, I had the opportunity to travel to the University of Nigeria,Nsukka, for a tryout. Being there, I realized how beautiful university life was, how vast the campus was, and how attending a university could be more fulfilling than my previous dream of attending a Polytechnic.
Unfortunately, I failed the tryout. When the NECO results were released that year, mine wasn't among them, and I gave up on it. With the support of my parents, I returned to Oke Iragbiji Grammar School.
In December of that year, I traveled to Lagos and met my maternal uncles, who were either students or graduates of a university in the Philippines. Their lifestyle, eloquence, and experiences inspired me. Despite being a brilliant student and one of the best in my school, my English speaking skills were lacking, and I began to work on improving them.
Back home in January 2019, I met Taoheed Adegbite, a senior colleague who graduated from Oke Iragbiji Grammar School around 2015 as the Head Prefect and was then studying Literature in English at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. He became the perfect mentor I was looking for. Literature was a shared passion that brought us together quickly. My best friend, Sunday, and I had written many unpublished plays, inspired by our admiration for Wole Soyinka. Taoheed had written and published two plays as well, which inspired us to pursue our ambition of publishing our own works, though we couldn't find sponsors. Taoheed taught me, advised me, and shared his experiences from his school and course of study, and I began to envision myself in his shoes.
I decided to take the JAMB UTME form that year, using awaiting results, and applied for Literature in English at Usmanu Danfodiyo University as my first choice and Mass Communication at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, as my second choice. My NECO result was still pending, so with my parents' support, I registered for WAEC. Ironically, the week I registered for WAEC, my NECO result was released, and I passed all nine subjects. However, I couldn't get a refund for the WAEC registration. The JAMB UTME was the first exam I took that year. With no prior experience, guidance, or tutorials, I studied diligently and scored 200, which exceeded the 180 required for Literature in English at Usmanu Danfodiyo University. I wrote the WAEC exams and started processing my applications for both Sokoto and Abeokuta.
During this time, I planned to move to Lagos permanently to continue my fashion designing apprenticeship with my paternal uncle. Studying Law was never a part of my dreams. The first and last time I mentioned it was in Grade 11 (SSS 2) in a conversation with my friend Soliu, who aspired to study Law.
One day, my High School Vice-Principal, Mrs. Owolabi, who was like a school mother to me, knowing I was the only one in my set who took the JAMB UTME and planned to study Literature in English up North, asked me, “Usman, don't you want to study Law? You can study Law with your score at Maiduguri. You are a brilliant student, and if you don't mind, I know someone there.” Her suggestion sounded strange considering the perception of Borno State, but I researched North East Nigeria, Borno, Maiduguri, the university, the insecurities, the people, and the culture. As a curious individual who loves traveling, learning, and taking risks, I decided to pursue the offer with little consent from my parents.
Mrs. Owolabi's advice changed my life and sparked an unforeseen interest in Law. I made the necessary calls, changed my institution and course, and traveled to Lagos. Eventually, I gained admission, but not for Law; I was offered Library and Information Science instead. Despite not liking the course, I accepted the offer, driven by my desire to explore and satisfy my curiosity.
During my time there, I met wonderful people, learned a lot, won awards, and performed to the best of my abilities. Alongside my best friends Abel Yusuf from Adamawa, Nubiyah from Adamawa, Kazeem from Kogi, Ibrahim from Borno, CY from Kaduna, and others, I was recognized as one of the good students in my class. With Pastor Adereti's help, an On-Air Personality himself, I started featuring on radio stations, inching closer to my dream of becoming an On-Air Personality. Despite these achievements, my passion for Law grew stronger every day. The following year, without informing my parents or close acquaintances, I took the JAMB UTME form again, aiming for Law at the University of Maiduguri as my first choice. I did better than my first attempt, making it possible to study a better course at Maiduguri. However, concerns about the insecurity in the North East and my dissatisfaction with my current course made me reconsider my options. I wanted to leave the North East, preferring a place closer to home, perhaps in the North Central or North West, but lacked the necessary connections for admission. Eventually, I decided to return to the West and applied to Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife.
I scored 21 out of 40 in the post UTME and was offered Philosophy, a course I had never considered before. I gladly accepted the offer. While researching Philosophy, I took another JAMB UTME form, applied for Law at Ife, and scored 246, achieving 22 out of 40 in the post UTME. Despite my improved scores, I did not meet the requirements and I decided to settle for Philosophy, giving up on Law. Without informing my parents, I left the University of Maiduguri as a 200-level student of Library and Information Science to study Philosophy at Ife. Although this decision was unpopular, I believed no studying Philosophy at Ife would be more fulfilling than Library and Information Science at Maiduguri.
A NEW BEGINNING: PURSUING PHILOSOPHY AND REKINDLING THE LAW DREAM AT IFE
In late 2021, I traveled to Lagos and began preparing for my resumption at Ife after working for a few months as a cashier in Osun. We eventually resumed as 100-level students in the Philosophy department in January 2022.
I was excited to be on campus for Freshmen's orientation, meeting friends I had connected with online, and starting a new university life in the West.
I had given up on Law and resolved not to write JAMB UTME again. Within my first month as a freshman, an opportunity arose when there was an election for class representative. I was elected as the class representative of the 100-level Philosophy students. I was excited to serve and share my experience with my course mates, marking the beginning of my journey in Philosophy.
I developed a strong desire for Philosophy, finding it so interesting that I never missed a single class. I was always enthusiastic about reading philosophical papers and attending philosophy classes. With the little knowledge I had acquired at the University of Maiduguri,
I began having group discussions with my course mates and conducting mini tutorial classes. However, in 2022, our lecturers went on an industrial strike, and we were home for about 10 months. During the strike, I encouraged many people who still had a passion for Law to take the UTME form again, even though my own passion for it had died.
I didn't write JAMB UTME in 2022, content with studying Philosophy. Nonetheless, I always felt concerned when people outside asked about the course I was studying.
Philosophy is a great course, but it's relatively unpopular among Nigerians. When we returned to school after the strike, things continued to go well. However, seeing people I had encouraged to pursue Law successfully getting into the course made me question why I couldn't achieve the same…
In 2023, I realized that Obafemi Awolowo University would combine the 2022 freshmen and 2023 aspirants.
Motivated by stories and encouragement I found online, I decided to give Law one last shot. Despite my fears about what people would say, especially after almost four years of university education, I consulted with people who had gone through similar journeys. With their motivation, I applied for JAMB UTME one last time, keeping it a secret from everyone. Balancing my academics, working as a student, and my responsibilities as class representative, I wrote JAMB UTME and achieved my highest score yet. Despite preparing for the exam, my academic performance in Philosophy did not suffer; in fact, that semester, I achieved my highest GPA ever, 4.80. This motivated me to prepare diligently for the post-UTME.
With the help of friends and colleagues who shared the same ambition like Micheal, Bisola and Testimony, as well as tutors like Ifeoluwa (Talkie-talkie) (owner of The Exceptionals), Fifi (owner of Fifipedia College), Dave Imperial (owner of Dave Imperial Tutorial),Muthiat, Dr Mrs Ajibooro, Femi, Adeyemi, and others, I prepared for and excelled in the post-UTME exam, scoring over 30. This success came after four months of sacrifices, overnight studies, and teaching one of the subjects I registered for in three different tutorials, both offline and online.
Subsequently, Obafemi Awolowo University released the cut-off mark, and for the first time, after five years of trying to study Law, I met the merit cut-off. Despite all the struggles and setbacks, I eventually achieved my dream of studying Law at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife.
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