Hunger, Poverty Aided My Emergence as NIJ Best Student – Sodiq Oyeleke
Sodiq Oyeleke
“being intelligent is all about being poor; it is about denials; it is about knowing how to read in the traffic of Lagos. It is about hunger and mostly importantly God. All these combined is what made me achieve this.My first 9 months in NIJ was tug of war, I survived it and it’s made me a better person…”
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Sodiq Oyeleke is a student at the department of English Language, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. In 2009, he was working as a sachet water car washer as at the same time he was undergoing a National Diploma programme at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Lagos. Five years after, he became the best graduating student.
Last week, he was the cynosure of all eyes as his name was announced as the overall best graduating student at diploma level of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism. The Omupo, Kwara State born student, tells Sikiru Akinola, 400 level, Political Science, OAU, how he didn’t allow poverty deter him from achieving success.
After his graduation from secondary school, Longford International School in Ebute Meta, Lagos Mainland, in 2008, all hope of furthering his post secondary education were dim due to harsh economic situation.
He explained that an unknown parents, moved by his speech as head boy, gave him N5,000 during the school’s valedictory service. He used the money in setting up a business centre.
He, however, noted that the business died when the profit made from the venture became insufficient for nurturing the business as he wanted.
His word: “So in 2009, I went to work with a pure water company as a car boy and loader to distribute to customers. I later stopped because a customer treated me like a slave. I cried all night that day and decided to find a new job. I went into teaching and later, it looked too dull to me because I had no time for my business and the salary was meagre. After that, I went into GSM engineering, private teaching among others”.
He was learning computer engineering when he gained admission into the Nigeria Institute of Journalism. Again, the fee was too much for him to pay. He had lost hope of registering when fortune smiled on him. A lady, Agbaje Esther, sacrificed her Journalism career for Sodiq.
He said that the lady actually got admission into University of Lagos and NIJ simultaneously but she transferred her NIJ school fees which she had already paid and opted for UNILAG whose admission she had her earlier rejected for a degree in Russian Language studies.
“The award came with higher responsibilities, it’s a challenge for me to do more as this is not the first time he will be awarded. It is a call to duty and I always want to justify that I merit the awards”, he says.
On how he achieved the feat, he said that “being intelligent is all about being poor; it is about denials; it is about knowing how to read in the traffic of Lagos. It is about hunger. All these combined is what made me achieve this”.
“My first 9 months was tug of war, I survived it and it’s made me a better person.
“I usually go and do ‘Service Boy’ during the weekends and I manage the money for one week sometimes two depending on whether or not there is job. Sometimes, I get money by helping people out with their assignments. If I don’t have enough transport fare, I trek home and on two occasions I have got to sleep at Ikeja under bridge. I eat when there is food and I starve when there is none. I see all these as advantages to me because they gave me reasons and opportunity to read well”.
He said that he won’t forget the day a lecturer jokingly embarrassed him in the class. The lecturer had asked Sodiq’s classmates to contribute money for him to buy clothes, “saying that I don’t wear good outfits. He also narrated how a friend, Wasilat Kabiawu used to bring food to him from her parents house and how he usually go and hide in the toilet to read so that his friends won’t disturb him.
He said it became tough when he was appointed president of Muslim students; we prayed in a mosque that had no cover. “The whole experience I gained during my internship in Punch Newspapers is also a cool one to always remember”.
When this reporter asked where his parent was when all these were happening, he said that his parents are alive but “they are not just capable. I am sure they would have done something if they are capable. At least, I can beat my chest for my mother. She really tried to have seen me off secondary education”.
Fortunately, after graduating from NIJ, he gained admission to study English Language in OAU and “that is what I am battling with now. I would have loved to continue my Higher National Diploma in NIJ but for the lack of fund but I thank God I didn’t anyway, because it is just too nice to be in OAU. Just as no school can beat NIJ in Mass Communication, OAU is outstanding among other universities in Nigeria”.
About his future aspiration, he said God will decide for him. His dream is just to be successful in life.
When he was asked to advise the youths, he said: “why advise youths and not government? How do you want the youths to create job in this challenging situations we find ourselves in this country?. Lack of adequate electricity supply killed my business center. Creating jobs is technical and not political. Let the government perform their duty and you will be surprise to see that Nigerian youths are more vibrant than their counterparts in any part of the world”.
By Sikiru Akinola
http://acjoau.com/i-slept-at-ikeja-under-bridge-to-emerge-nij-best-student-sodiq-oyeleke/
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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