AFRICA | A Nigerian man who wrote JAMB exam 4 times before gaining admission travels out, graduates as US university’s best student
A brilliant Nigerian man named Abiola Orimolade who wrote the JAMB exam four times before being admitted to a university has defied all odds to succeed and travel out of the country.
He graduated as the best-graduating student of Sul Ross University, Texas in the United States.
Narrating his story, Abiola said as a child, his parents thought he was smart and hardworking since he always wanted to do things on his own but he saw himself as an average student.
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Abiola said he admired the kids who got recognized at school and dreamt of becoming an engineer, but he did not like science subjects. He took the JAMB examination four times and could not gain admission into his dream school, the Federal University of Technology.
Following his uncle’s advice, Abiola enrolled at the Federal College of Agriculture, Akure (FECA) but kept his decision a secret from his friends, feeling embarrassed about attending the school. He said it was the two years of experience at FECA that propelled him to academic excellence.
”I was told at that time that if I could graduate with an upper credit, I could easily transfer to any university of my choice. I became hungry for academic excellence. I was extremely determined, unstoppable; I wanted to go to uni real badly, and my hard work eventually paid off,” he said.
He graduated with distinction and was the second best graduating of the university which gave him an easy admission into the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) to study Agricultural Economics.
Abiola stated that OAU was a completely different experience for him being a prestigious university than FUTA, which had rejected him four times. He said while in school, he could not maintain his academic excellence because it took time for him to catch up as a 200-level fresh student.
After graduation, he ventured into the fashion business but he realized he needed serious professional background training in business and management which promoted him to enroll for a master’s in Business administration in the United States.
He resumed the MBA degree program at Sul Ross State University in 2018. Abiola said with his experience of reading hard in OAU, he resumed school with the drive and energy and had the mindset to leave a mark at Sul Ross University.
Abiola discovered he had straight As, which motivated him to strive for even greater academic achievement. He said the only challenging course was an economics class, which required intense study and practice but despite the difficulty, he eventually earned a 90%grade.
Aside from graduating as the best MBA student, Abriola received different scholarships and awards. He earned the President Initiative Scholarship and the Business Administrative International Scholarship.
He was also inducted in April 2019, into the Delta Mu Delta (Sul Ross chapter)and was the second Nigerian student in the history of the university to be inducted into the society and he earned a perfect 4.00 grade point average upon graduation.
Advising those still in high school, college, or university, Abiola urges them to pursue their dream with unwavering passion and dedication and not let setbacks or challenges discourage them.
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