Who would've thought...

This was not meant to be my next post, but I can’t help it. The story is too big and explosive to keep to myself, so I must share it while it is still piping hot.

I just got back to Lagos from a trip to Ife. The event was my younger sister’s convocation ceremony. Venue: Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) campus. My sister gained admission into OAU about 6 years ago, and the manner in which she did was quite dramatic. For the purpose of instruction, I will start from the very beginning.

Folashade (that’s her name) has always wanted to be a lawyer. Everyone in my house agreed with her mainly because we thought it was a profession that suited her confrontational tendencies. In her senior secondary school years, she excelled at and literally breathed the subjects everybody else in her art class hated most – Government, History and Literature. That was when I began to suspect that our speculations about her choice of career were accurate.

All went well until it was time for her to fill her first UME form. A certain friend of mine who was at the time studying International Relations at OAU managed to convince Folashade that there were more opportunities and career prospects in International Relations than she could ever dream of. To cut a long story short, my sister gave in to the persuasion and announced to us that she was now going to study a course that had the potential of making her Nigeria’s ambassador to the whole world. We were all shocked to say the least, but my father, true to type, let her go ahead with it. After all, it was her life. The only problem was that Mathematics was a core requirement for International Relations, and it was one of Folashade’s less popular subjects. So it was that when all the results were released, she could not get into the University because she didn’t ‘have’ Mathematics.

Very painful, but by then she had learnt her lesson: stick to what you’re best at. So she reverted to her original course and registered for that year’s UME: Law, Obafemi Awolowo University. She put in more hard work than I’d ever seen her do, and emerged with a score of 219. Not quite up to the cut-off mark, so she was ‘offered’ Political Science as consolation. ‘Political Science?’ was the question on my mind. ‘What does that have to do with anything?’ I saw that she was not happy with the way things turned out, but there was nothing we could do, was there? She set about the University screening and registration process rather mechanically, without any enthusiasm. The reality she perceived then was that her highest hopes and wildest dreams had been blown to pieces. I was at the time in my final year at the same school, so I was a first-hand witness to her pain and disappointment. It was all we could do to keep up appearances.

Then came a bolt out of the blue. My father showed up on one of those gloomy afternoons in school with a letter in hand. He kept a straight face, so that initially none of us could guess what he was up to. He then handed the letter to Folashade, and as she read, his face broke into a wide smile. His smile was nothing compared to the whoop of joy she raised a minute later. She had a second admission letter for Law that superseded the one for Political Science.Thankfully, registration was still in progress, so she switched to the Faculty of Law without further ado. That was when her success story swung into full gear. She just did what she knew how to do best – work hard, pray and leave the rest to God. She scaled through her semester examinations brilliantly, and by the end of her third year, she was on a first class! Wow! By this time, she had become a source of inspiration to many people who wanted to know how this ‘ordinary’ girl could do the extraordinary. Any doubts she had before about being able to finish with a first class vapourised, and she forged ahead with determination until, finally, she did finish with a first class and the best result in the faculty!

Now, that might sound like big news to you, but it’s not even the best part. At her convocation ceremony two days ago, she received 12 prizes - yes, 12 – from various departments within the faculty plus the all-encompassing University prize for the overall best student with the highest number of prizes! That makes 13 prizes in all. For just her. She was the star of the ceremony. Even parents that didn’t know her jumped for joy as she was receiving all the prizes; they were so happy for her. In another country I would have expected the news to make national newspaper headlines. I was so proud of her.

After the official ceremony, I had to wait a while for all who wanted photographs to finish with her, and then I went forward to the podium to give her a bear hug. I was so overwhelmed with joy that I started crying. Thoughts of the past flashed through my mind – how it all started, how discouragement set in, how it all looked so ordinary and even gloomy sometimes, how we survived together when the money was low, - and all of a sudden it was more than worth it. As we left the hall I expressed my thoughts to her, and ended with the question, “Who would’ve thought?” The answer is, “Nobody”. Not even her could have ever thought over 6 years ago that she could get to where she was on that day. I especially congratulate the Faculty of Law, for they would have forfeited a gem indeed if they had stood on their refusal to give her admission. They should know now that it was that little, insignificant girl who squeezed herself to enter in that is their hero today.

I don’t know if you get the purpose of my telling this story. By now you should have. Just try and read between the lines. There are many lessons to be drawn from Folashade’s experience, and the applicable ones will vary from person to person.
Personally, I have learnt the following:
1) It always pays to play in your area of strength. Leave your weak points for someone else to handle.
3) Know what you want from life, and stand for it. Don’t allow yourself to be blown about by every wave of doctrine, or other people’s opinion. That’s just what it is – their opinion, and they are entitled to it. You are responsible for your own life.
4) If at first you fail at something, try again. If you realise you got it wrong the first time, don’t be too proud to admit your mistake and change direction. It is never too late to change for the better.
5) It doesn’t matter what today looks like, you can mould a great future with it that will emerge tomorrow. Where you’ve been is not half as important as where you’re going.
6) Never underestimate yourself – you’re full of surprises even you don’t yet know.
7) There’s a hero and a star in everybody. In the words of Donnie McClurkin, ‘There’s a king inside of me, and he’s the man that you cannot see…’
8) It is never over until it’s all over. Never, never, never, give up!