I'm The First Person To Have First Class in My Family But Almost Gave Up When My Father Got ill - University of Ibadan Graduate

Twenty-seven-year-old best graduating student of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ibadan, Olayinka Babatunde graduate, speaks about his journey to academic feat and how he almost gave up to his dreams after his father got ill.

What are the lessons you learnt throughout your academic journey at the University of Ibadan?

There are a lot of things I learnt. The first thing is to understand diverse people from different backgrounds and different orientations. So, the first thing I learnt was to accommodate everybody and to learn to live in unity with people. Also, I learnt the saying that ‘it’s not over until it’s over because there are a lot of obstacles. There were a lot of challenges, but I reprogrammed my mind in such a way that I needed to always believe that some things could still be done to change the situation.

So, only the past cannot be altered. But if you still have something in the future, we can still do something to change it. I also learnt to meet and appreciate people who are better than me. Instead of being jealous of people who are better than you, get closer to them and learn from them. By interacting with them, you will gain insights, tactics, and strategies from them that will also improve your life.

How did you feel finishing with a first class?

I feel so excited, but then it’s a mixed feeling. Graduating with a first class from the University of Ibadan is not an easy task. When I realised I was in UI, I had to live up to the standards. Now that I have achieved this academic feat, I want to continue to live up to the bar I’ve raised for myself in all my endeavours. Nothing should be short of excellence.

What were the things that helped you in your academic pursuit?

There were a lot of things that contributed to this feat. But then, I will just pick some basic points. I had this mindset that it’s not over until it’s over. I didn’t consider giving up. When I had obstacles, I subscribed to the opinions of getting diverse means to overcome them. For example, I took an exam which was General Studies. We called it GES 105 on agricultural studies and related topics. I prepared for the test, but I didn’t get good grades in the test. Not only me, but many people complained and became bitter about our results.

After a while, I realised all I needed to do was to read very well for the exams to cover up for my losses. Also, I focused on other courses to give me what I needed. I also knew what worked for me. I didn’t follow the crowd to do what they did; I sat down to know what was best for me. In terms of choosing courses to borrow or reading formulas to adopt, I did what was best for me. I didn’t do what others chose.

Again, I never allowed my circumstances to affect me so much. I understood I couldn’t change the past. So, I devoted my resources to attaining greater heights for the future. A lecturer told all of us that we should ensure that we read every day. Whatever we were taught, we should ensure that we read that particular topic. I took a step forward by doing this. Whatever we were taught as a topic, I would go online to research about it; and go to YouTube to watch videos.

This way, it broadened my knowledge about the topics. There were times that I went to Abuja to acquire data on behalf of one of my lecturers. For the whole week, I was in Abuja. I didn’t attend classes, but when I came back, I was teaching my colleagues what they were taught in that class because I used extra hours to read about the topics.

Another thing that helped me was speaking with my senior colleagues. They told me about the courses and lecturers before I met them. So, I was prepared. I knew what the lecturers taught and what they expected even before I met them.

At UI, there used to be reading formulas like morning-till-night, also known as MTN or till-daybreak also known as TDB, which one did you adopt?

When I was in my first year, I tried TDB, but I realised that it didn’t work for me. The first step towards self-development is self-evaluation, knowing who you are, and what works for you. I went to TDB twice with my roommate. There was a day that I went to TDB. When we got back to the hostel around 5am, I slept, and when I woke up, it was around 10 in the morning. I realised I couldn’t attend classes. My classmates called me on the phone, but I didn’t know.

I realised I could have missed tests, and in the end, I couldn’t recall or grasp anything I read that night. It was a wasted time. That was the last time I did TDB. After that time, I read whenever I felt like reading. I realised that when I woke up early in the morning, I assimilated well. There were sometimes in the afternoon that I assimilated.

Whenever we had a break in between, I went to the library to read. Most of the books I read were not even in line with my course. Seventy per cent of the books I read were on psychology, philosophy, science, history, and all of that. I only read when I know that my brain assimilates.

You mentioned that you had challenges when you started this academic feat. What were they?

Academically, I don’t think I faced any challenges. However, I had financial challenges. My dad is a pastor, but his major occupation is farming. My mum is also a farmer. I used to go home to get foodstuff or money during the breaks. Sometimes, my dad would call me to ask if I needed anything. When things were difficult at home, I wouldn’t want to demand anything. But when I got to the 300 level, my dad got sick, and that was where everything changed. He was unable to provide anything.

I was unable to get foodstuffs from home. It was unexpected. I didn’t see it coming. I tried to go into the online space to better myself but to no avail. I learnt about business marketing, copywriting, graphic design, and almost anything you can think of in the online space such as e-commerce, and information marketing. I was looking for money to shoulder my financial responsibilities, to get food, and to pay for my school fees and accommodation. So, it was a very tough time.

I also worked for my lecturers. I did speech annotation for them. I also did data set annotation. One of my lecturers also recommended me to his friends in the United States to do jobs for them. I used to go to the field to help my lecturers acquire data. When I said I went to Abuja the other time, it was Dr Lewis, one lecturer from the department who sent me to acquire data on his behalf. He paid for my flight ticket, the accommodation, the meals and everything. That was how I survived those trying times.

Are you the firstborn?

Yes. I am the firstborn. There are four of us; three guys and one female.

Are you the first person to have first class in the family?

Yes. Only a few of us have been able to go to the university.

How did you find yourself studying Linguistics?

Just like many of my colleagues, while I was rounding off my secondary school education, I wanted to study German. I liked German, and I was learning some stuff about German back then. But when I wanted to come to UI, someone like a brother told me that I should study Linguistics. He said if I went for linguistics, I would be able to study a lot of languages.

He said I would like to learn German, French or Spanish, something like that. That was why I chose Linguistics. It was when I got to UI that I realised that Linguistics was not about learning different languages, but about learning about the structure and use of languages. Even if you don’t speak the language, or if you don’t understand the language, you will be able to work on the language. One can analyse the language and be able to tell the native speakers what they don’t know about their language.

Did you feel like throwing in the towel at any point in your academic journey?

Yes. It was a time when I was financially down, and no help was coming from anywhere. I was trying to put my hands on some things too. Everything kept failing. So, I said to myself let’s just let everything go. But I realised that because I didn’t have anybody, I shouldn’t give up. Giving up was not an option because I knew that if I graduated from school, I would be on my own. Again, I saw getting good grades as the only option I had to make my life better.

What was your final CGPA?

It was 3.83 out of 4.0.

Did you have role models that inspired you?

My first role model was Dr Demola Lewis. He was my supervisor. He is a much-respected figure in the field of linguistics.

Before you got admission, did you have any orientation about UI?

I would say I didn’t hear anything about UI except that it was very difficult to enter UI because I lived all my life in Ogbomosho. I had never been to the school until I went to write my post-UTME. I only used to see the main gate of UI, maybe online or whatever. I was told then that it was very difficult to gain admission into UI.

Someone told me that the best person in Olivet School in Oyo who went to write his post-UTME had 49 over 100. As a result of this, they didn’t admit the person. I was so scared. When it was my turn, I went there to write the post-UTME and to God be the glory, I passed the exam. I had 82 over 100.

Most first-class graduates didn’t have a social life or other extracurricular activities. Was your story like that too?

My case was very different. Although in my first year, I focused on my academics. I had a good CGPA. From 200 Level upwards, I was connecting with my friends in the department, and in the faculty. I started volunteering for NGOs. In my department, I volunteered for the academic committee. So, I was there to become a librarian at the 200 level.

In 300 Level, I was the student head librarian. I used to participate in almost all the activities. I used to be the chief chef in my hostel because we used to do all these common pots for faculty week, and all of that. So, I used to lead people to cook. I like cooking. I participated in almost everything. I used to go to parties too. I enjoyed my stay at the university. I did other things, and not only reading books. I joined committees in the department and the faculty. I ensured that I balanced everything.

What awards did you get for your academic success?

In 2022, I won the award of the person with academic excellence. I won it in the 300 Level.

But they didn’t include the option in the final year. So, I won that twice. Also, I won the award of the most academically inclined finalist in my course for my hostel, which was Lord Tedder Hall. That was in my final year too. Then I won the award for the most sociable student because I participated in almost all the social events.

I volunteered for a social committee and the Students’ Union week in the faculty. I think we had about three or four awards in our department. Under Linguistics and African Languages, we have Linguistics, which is where I have my job. I won the award of the best-graduating student.

That one is the Dean’s Award for the faculty. Anybody who emerged as the best student in the faculty would win that award. I won the Prof. Ayo Bamgboshe Prize for the best-graduating student in Linguistics and African Languages. I also won the Dr. Raymond Zard’s Prize for the best-graduating student in Linguistics.

What advice do you have for young undergraduates?

I will advise them that whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. If you see that what you are doing is worth doing, give it your all. In everything they do, they should put their all. If it isn’t worth doing, say no and go and do something else.