1.
"...And
they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the
Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt..."
Genesis 37:28
...
“They
have posted [released] our final results” a friend told me in a very very
trepid but rather familiar tone. I had to contend with the ever epileptic
internet connection to check my results. “Did I make it, Did I not?” I thought,
with my heart palpitating. Finally the internet ‘conceded’, and my eyes got
fixated on a 4.49 Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) on my computer screen,
my breath ceded for a sec ... “4.49?!!! How [the h$%] did this happen?” I have
never been so perturbed my entire life. Just some few days ago, I was quite
confident of a first class CGPA.
A quick
probe finally led out the facts: few months prior, a friend had helped to
submit an assignment for one of the classes I offered in my last semester at
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Nigeria. Unfortunately – or rather not –
the assignment was submitted with an incorrect matriculation [identification]
number. Because of this peccadillo, the 5 marks allocated for the assignment
(which I still believe I am totally entitled to) was not added to my class
grade; as such I ended up with a 67B in the class (which led to a 4.49 CGPA).
Had my 5 marks been added, it would been a 72A, with the much anticipated First
class honors.
Well,
this got really messed up by the ‘ridiculous’ obstinacy of a university
professor in my department, who insisted I WAS NOT A ‘FIRST CLASS MATERIAL’ and
a 4.49 cGPA was my rightful place. I was forlorn, to say the least. Finally, my
only chance of graduating with a first class honors from OAU got slid off right
in my face.
If you
are not familiar with the Nigerian GPA system used in most varsities, this is
how it works: If you are fortunate to garner a GPA from 4.50-5.00, that’s a
first class honors. With a 3.50-4.49 cGPA, then you land yourself in a second
class upper division.
In a
country replete with unemployment, and deplorable investments in science jobs,
trust me on this one: a 4.49 cGPA is the last thing you had wish for.
Not
surprising, looking back at my struggles at OAU, I developed a very strong
aversion towards the decaying educational system. [Which I believe is
characteristic of most tertiary institutions in Nigeria, after all, OAU has
constantly ranked the best] Here is why: I will fail woefully, if I try to
count the number of lectures I received while standing on my feet because of
the lack of available seats in a university lecture hall; or the number of
candles I used up for my readings because of the epileptic power supply. In
fact, the latter would be an impossible challenge.
I once
told some of my American friends that I read with candles throughout college,
the utter shock their countenance posited was one to remember. This is very
sad, because to some of us, we have grown to think that this is the norm, which
reminds of the popular Fela Song: suffering and smiling. That’s why I was
critical about the argument that a person submitting an assignment for me was
lack of academic integrity. On the contrary, considering the gross ineptitude
of university management in Nigeria. Our ‘leaders’ should be reprimanded for
any poor academic performance, certainly not otherwise.
...
As I was
called upon to receive the best graduating student’s prize for the department
of Microbiology in 2012, I had a very rare ambivalent feeling: I was gleeful –
my achievement was one that I am totally proud of – at the same time, irked: I
felt cheated. There and then I promised
not to enslave myself in an educational system that almost frustrate effort;
more often than not, fail to reward hard work; and needless to say, tainted by
some mentally challenged university professors that should have lost their jobs
long before we are even born.
2.
"They
tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds"
...
Little
did I know that a 4.49 GPA could be a potential advantage – an advantage of a
disadvantage. Soon after my final exams, I headed to the NYSC, harmed with little
information, I began to delve for graduate schools abroad. I have believed that
my success will be the best revenge, and that I had no options except for the
very best. Several months went by and I constantly spent half of my allawe
(monthly stipend the government pays NYSC corpers) on MTN modems to surf the
internet so I can garner as much information as I needed on graduate schools.
Even though the internet supply was an epileptic one, I wouldn’t give in. Just
within few weeks, I had sent over 200 emails to graduate schools abroad
enquiring about educational opportunities and scholarships. In short, I have
never been so focused! I did all the
required exams, and in the end I applied to more than 10 graduate schools
abroad. A friend once told me “that was way too much effort Bif”. To which I
replied “I think I should have done more, you need to graduate with a 4.49 cGPA
to think the way I do”
Praying
for the best and expecting the worse, I had saved some money doing my NYSC to
repeat the process again, the next year. And I am damn sure I wouldn’t be
hesitant to do it the third time even if I failed the second attempt.
As God
will have it, it went through during the first attempt. I got admissions in all
the schools I applied except one; with scholarships from the University of
Newcastle and The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington DC.
Shortly after my NYSC I left for Washington, DC.
Few
months ago, I graduated with a MS degree in Biotechnology from CUA with a 3.95
CGPA, (4.0 scale) an almost perfect cGPA; a wonderful research in the field of
functional yeast genomics with Dr. John Choy; and Doctorate scholarships from 4
graduate schools!
Permit
me to put on my economist cloak, and put a value on all the graduate
scholarship I have been offered since my graduation from OAU: it will be well
over $200,000.
These
are the lessons learnt:
One, In
Malcom Gladwell’s words: “We have ... a very rigid and limited definition of
what an advantage is ... We think of some things as unhelpful that in reality
leave us stronger and wiser.” This is the apt pith of this piece. My 4.49 cGPA
left me stronger! No doubts
Two,
someone opinion about you doesn’t have to be your reality. Take Charge!
In
conclusion, Taking glory for all the positives that have happened would be
fatuous and almost suicidal. After I lost the 4.49 ‘battle’ at OAU, several
professors, families and friend stood by me, and gave very inspiring messages.
Their words and support kept me going.
More
important, is the story of a man who think he can do it alone and found himself
swimming in a big ocean against the tides. Soon enough he drowned. He forgot
that when God is on your side the tides moves in your direction.
This is highly inspiring.
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