| The road to success is sometimes paved with thorns as exemplified by the inspiring story of one of the best graduating students of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, Segun Olugbile reports.
They are two of a kind. The two, Quadri Idris Olawale and Yetunde Osisanya, are not just brainy, they share similar aspirations. Unlike most young graduates who would not want to venture into the teaching profession, the two want to become lecturers. Both emerged the best graduating students of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, and were honoured during the 18th convocation of the institution on Thursday. While Olawale, 25, emerged the best graduating Higher National Diploma student with a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.78, Osisanya obtained a CGPA of 3.84 out of the maximum of 4.0 to come out as the best National Diploma student of the institution.
Olawale, born in Gbagura, Ogun State, graduated with HND in civil engineering, while Osisanya studied insurance. Osisanya, 22, did not just emerge the best graduating student, she also went home with 12 of the 24 awards open to her class. During the presentation of the awards, Osisanya became the cynosure of all eyes as the Master of Ceremony had to tell her not to go back to her seat until she received all the awards.
Each time she was called to come forward for the award, the audience, consisting students, lecturers, parents and dignitaries, including the Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mrs. Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanya, burst into shouts of joy and praises for Osisanya, daughter of a pastor.
In an interview with our correpondent, both students shared their inspiring stories.
The story of Osisanya is a confirmation of the saying that failure is the highway to success. The girl had failed the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination in 2004. She repeated the examination a year later and made the required five credits for admission to higher institution.
She said, “I failed the WASSCE in 2004, but thank God, I sat for the examination the following year and made the required credits. Though I would have loved to go to the university, I thank God that He opened the doors of the polytechnic for me. I have not regretted coming to the polytechnic because it has opened my eyes to the quality of training and it has also laid the foundation for me to become a lecturer later in life.”
The third child in a family of five called on youths looking for admission to be flexible in their choice of institution and course of study.
“You will just be wasting your time if you insist on a particular institution, because there are so many ways by which one could become an academic success in life. So, rather than wasting away at home writing matriculation examination to the university, go to the college of education or the polytechnic. I‘m not saying people should not have ambition, but since nobody has the total picture of one‘s future, it is better to be a bit flexible,” she said.
Osisanya, however, said that God, diligence, focus and extra efforts which she put into her studies were responsible for her enviable performance.
Speaking in the same vein, Olawale, who graduated from Ikeja High School, Lagos in 2002, said that it was fate that brought him to the polytechnic.
“I completed my secondary school education in 2002 and I made three As, two Bs, two Cs, and D in Yoruba and Agricultural Science. I sat for the UME and scored 247 to study civil engineering at the University of Ilorin, but I was denied admission. But thank God, I did the MPCE of that year and I scored 153 and LASPOTEC graciously gave me admission,” he said.
To prove that his performance at the 2002 WASSCE was not a fluke, Olawale, who was the Financial Secretary, National Association of Civil Engineering Students, obtained a CGPA of 3.42 to emerge as one of the best graduating students in his ND class. His ambition, like that of Osisanya, is to bag a Ph.D degree and become a lecturer.
“If you see any of my course mates, they will tell you that I will end up in the lecture room. I love teaching. I love imparting knowledge to people and that is why I will, immediately after the mandatory NYSC, go for my postgraduate diploma, then proceed for my Master‘s degree, after which I will go to the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State for my Ph.D,” Olawale, the son of a politician said.
But did he face challenges during the course of his stay on campus?
Olawale, who was also the Director of Studies, Muslim Students‘ Association, LASPOTECH, said he battled many challenges ranging from lack to combining studies with running two organisations.
“There are times you don‘t have what to eat and there are times you have. I live the normal lifestyle of an average Nigerian student, but as a Muslim, sometime, our examinations came during the month of Ramadan and without food, I had to prepare for examinations. But in all of this, one must thank God,” he said.
He also admonished admission seekers to be flexible in their choices.
“Rather than stay at home, you can start a professional programme such as Accounting Technician Scheme; you can enroll at a computer institute and you can go for another course in another institution,” he said.
Asked if he believed academic achievements alone could bring a secure future Olawale said, “Personally, I believe that success in life comes from within. However, sound academic credential can serve as a catalyst to a secure future, but much more, I believe that it is what is inside a man that can make him, not the quality of certificate he has. That is why I‘m not carried away with coming out as the best graduating HND student. I know that what will eventually make me is inside me, not the certificate and I know what is inside of me and with it, I will be successful by God‘s grace,” he said.
Other students that distinguished themselves included Ige Temitope, who obtained a CGPA of 3.75 to graduate as one of the best students in Business Administration.
Earlier, the Chairman, Governing Council of LASPOTECH, Prof. Simeon Ajose, had called on all stakeholders to raise the standard of technological education in the country.
This, he said, could be done by designing curriculum that would produce job creators and not job seekers, which he said, was what LASPOTECH had done.
He advised the graduating students to take advantage of the education that they had been exposed to in the polytechnic to better their lives and that of the nation.
“Nigeria at this stage requires people who will dare to stand out and make a mark towards technological advancement of the nation. There is need for you to be employers of labour rather than employment seekers in order to stem the tide of hopelessness that is prevalent among young graduates who seek endlessly for white collar jobs which have proved to be elusive.
“Your training in the polytechnic should enable you to carve a niche for yourselves in the Nigerian society and the world at large,” he said.
He also urged the graduating students to be good ambassadors of LASPOTECH, adding that they should immediately join the alumni association of the institution with a view to contributing towards the uplift of the polytechnic.
In his own remarks, the polytechnic rector, Mr. Ayodeji Iginla, disclosed that the institution, created in 1977, had produced 52,000 graduates in various disciplines.
He added that though the institution commenced lectures in January 1978 with 287 students, it now had 6,630 full-time students and over 10,000 part-time students spread across six schools, 28 departments and offering 49 accredited programmes.
He also listed some of the achievements of the polytechnic management in the last one year to include construction of the main access carriage road and drains from Itoikin to the campus; rehabilitation of external security lighting for the road; construction of the Entrepreneurial Study Centre; construction of digital centres in all the three campuses of the institution; and the establishment of Vocational Skills Village.
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