If I want to do justice to this topic, I would write thousands of words because people that were instrumental to my growth are numerous.
While I would try to mention them briefly, I would like to give a little details about one man who tops the list. The man that sacrificed a lot for me but unfortunately not alive for me to appreciate the kindness in the way I wished. The man is my father.
My parents were passionate about educating my siblings and I. At the early stage of our education, we were enrolled in a private primary school, a school mostly attended by the children of the middle-class (mostly civil servants). My father did this despite the meager income he got from farming.
I lost count of the number of times that he went to the school to plead to the management to allow us to write examinations when payment of school fees was being delayed. It wasn't easy for him but he was determined to see us get the best education that he wasn't opportuned to get. I finished my primary school and enrolled in a private secondary school. The support and encouragement was huge.
The climax of my father's sacrifice for me happened in 2013 when I was with him as a result of industrial action by University teachers in Nigeria.
A few weeks after arriving home, he started complaining of leg pain. We were treating the pain with some drugs but instead of reducing, the pain was increasing.
We managed the situation for some months before surgery was recommended by the Doctor. The time when this surgery was recommended coincided with the time I needed to return to school. The teachers had called off their strike. I needed money not just to resume school but to also pay fees because the semester's examination was two weeks away.
We had spent a lot of money in managing my father's ailments and what was available in terms of funds could only cater for the surgery expenses. I was thinking of how I would be able to pay my fees but on the other hand what was most important to me was the wellbeing of my father.
I concluded that the worst that would happen was to defer my registration and continue my education the following year.
My father called me one evening to inform me that I would be going back to school with the available money. He said he couldn't sacrifice my education for anything.
"I am ready to sacrifice my education for your wellbeing." I objected to the idea of prioritizing school fees payment ahead of his operation. I cried that evening.
When the issue became serious, I had to involve my mum and siblings to beg dad to allow us to do the operation with the money.
It happened that the operation was done and my sister borrowed money for me to pay my fees.
Unfortunately my father died from some complications shortly after the operation. My sister that came to my rescue that very period is also deceased. These two people were important to my education.
The third person in this regard is my lovely mum. She was and still is a great supporter today. When I needed money those days and didn't know how to approach my father, I would go through my mum.
Another pillar to my success is Semiu, a family friend. He came to my rescue when my cousin attempted duping me of an amount of money in helping secure admission.
My cousin informed me of a part-time degree program which he was doing. I bought the form through him and applied for admission. He facilitated the admission for me and when I went to the University to do registration, I realized that the programme wasn't accredited by the relevant regulatory body. I lost interest and told him that I would not register for the programme.
My cousin seized my properties insisting that I must pay 30000 Naira to the person that helped in facilitating the admission.
Semiu, who was also a student of the University, came to my rescue by challenging my cousin to take him to the person that demanded 30000 Naira. It was later discovered that the person was not in existence.
Semiu was the one that helped me secure a remedial form and I was admitted without bribing anyone. He helped me where a closer person failed me.
After finishing my education, people I met later in life were instrumental to my securing jobs so far.
In this regard is Abdul, a former colleague in a private secondary school who got a job in a bigger school and invited me to submit an application to join him. I submitted the application, passed the interview and was employed.
Another colleague of mine in the latter school, Mwaleng, connected me to go for an interview in Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna. I passed the interview and I was employed.
Whenever I am writing the story of my life, these people have a chapter each.
The role of my wife in the last two years can't be ignored. She moved me from bachelor's life to a married man with more sense of responsibility. Her support for my aspirations is huge.
Like I said from the beginning, the list is long with many more names that I won't be able to write about.
It's not all these people that I can reciprocate their kind gestures presently but in their memories, I promised to have my name written with gold in many people's life as someone that is instrumental to their growth just like I mentioned other names in this article.
Thank you for reading and God bless you.