Akeem Lasisi
When the Vice Chancellor of the First Technical University, Ibadan, Professor Adesola Ajayi, recently addressed freshers of the institution, his intention was to welcome them to the campus. He would also tell them about the ideals of the institution fondly called Tech-U, just as he would give them success tips to guide their steps. He, however, never knew that he had to tell the story of how he himself finished with a First Class at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, in 1991.
After inspiringly speaking to the new students, it was time for them to ask questions, only for one of them to give no other query than: ‘Sir, tell us how you made a First Class in Ife.’ It was a surprise to the VC who ordinarily is not given to parroting personal achievements. But, as a Yoruba proverb says, Ìdúró kò sí, ìbèrè kò sí: ìrókò ti wó lú ilé agbẹ́dó – meaning the carver has no cause to stay idle once an iroko tree collapses on his building. So, Professor Ajayi just had to revisit the over 30 years old OAU story.
“There is no magic about having a First Class or a Second Class Upper,” he told the students. “As a matter of fact, at a young university like this, it is easier because the student population is not yet large – at least not as large as what you have in OAU or the University of Ibadan. Here, the opportunity of closeness to your lecturers is high and this helps to deepen your knowledge and aid success.”
Based on the VC’s account, one thing that helped him was that he did not have the kind of financial luxury that could have tempted him into embracing distractions.
He continued: “I started going to class and reading from the day lectures started. There is the tendency for many students to pile up notes and say the semester is still young. Not me! While my colleagues were still dragging their feet in the room, I was already on my way back to the lecture hall to read. So, you must learn to manage your time very well.
“Know yourself. Know your areas of strength and your weakness. For instance, I wasn’t very good at Chemistry. I struggled to have C6 in the subject in what is now the West African Senior Secondary Examination, WASSCE. I would have dropped it if not because I wanted to study Agriculture. The teacher I consulted said the subject was compulsory for anyone who wanted to study Agric.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a teacher for it. So, I had to struggle on my own and the result was the let-my-people-go C6 that I have in Chemistry. The same applied to Physics. Till today, I may not be able to accurately answer the question, ‘What is Physics’, because we had no teacher for it in my secondary school.”
The VC further noted that no graduate teacher taught him in secondary school until he got to Form Four. He went to school in what he metaphorically called ‘the village’, which was his home town, Igbojaye, in the agrarian food-basket Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State. Unfortunately, Physics was again waiting for him at Ife as it was equally central to the Agric he chose to study.
“One thing that helped me mostly was that my Head of Department said he would not allow me to do Physics in year one because it is not in my O’ level result as I didn’t offer it in the secondary school,” Ajayi recollected. “Of course, I easily agreed with him. The experience helped me to know how the university system works and how to concentrate on my strengths. Many of you like to copy others. You want to do a course just because your friends are doing it. That is wrong. Concentrate on what suits your ability and passion.
“My encouragement to you is that you should work very hard. If you have any problem, speak out. People will help you. Identify those who are better than you and minimise distractions. I remember what somebody told me in Ife: OAU sílẹ̀kùn fún wèrè, meaning the university opens its door for all manner of people, including crazy – if not outright mad – ones. There is an opportunity to exhibit all kinds of foolishness and madness but, at the end of the day, all candidates will face the same examinations, the same system, the same rules.”
Professor Ajayi then remembered some of his fellow students at Ife, who were notorious for crazy manifestations, mostly for fun. Among such was a guy in the room next to his in the Angola Hall, who went to a female hostel wearing only pants – just for a N5 bet. He also recalled the story of another who, interestingly, is almost a Senior Advocate of Nigeria today. His own was that he and his guys would decide to go naked in their room in the hostel whenever they cooked beans and wanted to eat it.
The VC stressed: “So, there were all kinds of attractions and distractions. But I remained focused because I had my mind set on success. People like me who came from humble backgrounds particularly, had to be wise. Those of us from Oke-Ogun know how many rivers we crossed, especially those from Saki, Kishi etc. That is why I don’t want to pontificate because I don’t know what I would have done if I had money. Because I didn’t have money, there was no party to go, no social event to attend.
“When we were going to OAU from our towns in Oke Ogun, the road was so dusty that our heads and all our bodies would be covered by dust. So, each of us used to put on an agbada to cover our bodies. When I got to the campus, I would carry on my head a bag of yam and a keg of palm oil in my hand. That is why I said poverty also kept me in check.
“I realised that if I lost that opportunity, I would go back to the village. I would go back to the farm. So, I made sure I took my study seriously. But things are generally better now. The First Technical University offers you better opportunity. Our results in this university have been fantastic. We have been producing more First Class graduates here than OAU – proportionally speaking. Same with Second Class. We do everything to ensure you don’t fall into Third Class or Ordinary Pass, unless it is your decision and determination to do so.”
At the opening ceremony of the weeklong orientation programme were the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Professor Iyiola Tella; the Registrar, Mrs Olayinka Balogun; immediate past Bursar, Pastor Kehinde Olatokun represented by Mr. Samsom Ayantoye; Acting University Librarian; Dr. Abduramon Akinbode; Dean, Students Affairs, Dr Caleb Aborisade; and the Director, Vice Chancellor’s Office, Mrs. Olanrwaju Omolola.
The VC congratulated the students on gaining admission into the unique University which, according to him, is a STEM institution owned by the Oyo State Government. Highlighting the motto of the school – Developing brains, training hands – he said it would soon start offering Social Sciences courses.
Professor Ajayi told the freshers that the feat they had achieved was significant based on the huge volumes of their mates who failed to secure admission at Nigerian tertiary institutions year after year. He gave the example of the 1,116,021 that sat for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) in 2022, out of which about 600,000 got admission into universities.
He said, “In some ways, you have distinguished yourselves. The irony is that there are those who got over 300 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) who have not been admitted. So, whether you came in through scholarships or you are sponsored by your parents, your admission is still worth celebrating.
“Admission into Nigerian Universities is like a camel walking through the needle’s eye. So, what you have now is an opportunity. I know you have been posting the photos of your arrival on social media. Good! Congratulations. But may the posting not be the last. Don’t forget that gaining admission and graduating are not the same thing. Until you fulfil all academic and moral requirements and the Senate pronounces you a ‘graduate’, you are just not one yet. The Yoruba say ìbèrẹ̀ kìí ṣe oníṣé, meaning that starting a task is not the ultimate; it is completing it. So, utilise the opportunity you have well by studying hard and smartly and by passing your exam without any malpractice or blemish.
“Many of you are like me. You are the first generations of those who would go to university in your families. È̩kọ́ àgbà ni bàbá mi fi kàwé: my father went to adult school. My parents did not have university education, but I have been able to break that history. Now, it is time for all of you with the same history to do the same. This is thus a significant opportunity for you – your admission to Tech-U. Make good use of it. Don’t let it slip away because that opportunity is as slippery as ẹja òjìjí – the cat fish. I always tell people: If I didn’t have education, I would have ended up in the village hunting big rats and antelopes. I would never have been VC without university education. The same applies to the DVC, the Registrar and all your lecturers and other university officials.”
The VC added that the freshers should realise that they had started writing their history from the day they landed on Tech-U campus. He said the freedom they now enjoyed, having left their parents to live independently on campus, was one they should handle with care.
“Whatever a man sows, he reaps. You need to cultivate a burning reading habit. Expand your horizon by reading more. By yesterday that you came, we have already started seeing those who will be leaders among you based on their conduct and responses to instructions,” Professor Ajayi noted.
His story and admonition were rewarded with elastic ovation.
