I vividly recall my admission into the nursery school of the University of Ilorin Primary School, Ilorin, Kwara State, here in Nigeria. I was barely five years old, and I could say I started school late, as children those days are enrolled to commence schooling from as early as one year old. Here in Nigeria, you needed to be able to extend your arm from a part of your body to the other side of your head and ensure your fingers touched the opposing ear. This method was used to determine eligibility for enrollment in school in the 1990s, when I was growing up. Coupled with the poor financial state of my family, beginning school at the age of five was understandable and forgivable.
My first major challenge in life was having to repeat the reception (nursery) class despite having the option of being promoted on probation. My father refused to let me get promoted on probation due to my poor grades. I must admit that I was quite playful at that early stage of life. Subsequent ladders in my academics at the primary level of care were not as favorable as I never got to top my friends till the final year of school.
I had come home to my father in the penultimate year of primary school, happily telling him I wanted to write the National Common Entrance Examination to enable me to proceed to high school. This common entrance examination is mostly written in primary six; however, it was not unusual to write it in the penultimate year or even in primary four. My father had engaged the service of an extramural lesson teacher to tutor me after official school hours, and this really improved my academics.
My father outrightly rejected my request to write that examination at that stage, and I felt hurt, especially when I saw some classmates who were not as bright as I was who were proceeding with the examination. I continued my academic ladder through primary six, and yes, I became the head boy of the school. This was an unusual feat for a student whose parents are not members of the university community to be the head prefect of the school.
Though I ranked fifth in grade among my peers, I was not among the brightest students in primary school (the average number of students in primary six was a hundred), and thus, I was not among the two students nominated to write the examination to be admitted to Gifted Academy, Suleja. Gifted Academy was among the best high schools in Nigeria, and all students were admitted as scholarship students. My father did not give up, and he went ahead to register me as a representative of a local school in his community (Patigi Central School). I eventually wrote the examination with those two students nominated by the school, and we eagerly awaited the result.
I eventually wrote the Common Entrance Examination in primary school, and I came in second place in my state, with the person holding the first position passing me by one mark. I chose two schools, one in the capital city of Nigeria (Federal Government College, Karu), and the other happened to be in my state of origin and residence (Federal Government College, Ilorin). My father took me to both schools after I wrote their interview examinations, and they were eager to have me attend their schools, respectively.
Deep within me, I knew my father did not have the financial capacity to fund me through either of the schools, though he feigned showing his weakness. I actually wished I could attend the college school in the nation’s capital, but the financial burden was going to be too much for my parents to bear. While returning from Abuja on college sightseeing (where the nation’s capital college was located), we passed through the gates of Gifted Academy, and I silently prayed I would get admitted there.
We did wait for the results of the Gifted Academy examination to come out, which took almost forever as the deadline to pay tuition fees for the two colleges I had qualified for was fast approaching. I could not quantify my joy when eventually my name was on the merit list of those that passed the examination to attend the Gifted Academy, where I was among the five best students selected to attend the school. My parents and even the school I was in that did not nominate me were proud of me (neither of the other two students nominated by the school passed the examination), and I was thankful to my parents, especially my father, for giving me all the necessary supports and push I needed.
Eventually, I attended Gifted Academy, Suleja, which was fully funded, and today, I am glad to be a medical doctor.
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