It was over a month since I started lectures and for the duration of time, I have been running solo with my course registrations.
Image is mine
I didn't feel the need to run to my Foster father Dr. Silas (not his real name) for anything, despite him being one of my departmental lecturer and the link to which I got admitted into the Uni.
The thing is, in my country, if you are not a graduate from government owned universities, your degree is considered less off.
Basically, if you are going for a job interview for big shot companies or for the government, preference will first be given to those coming with a degree from Government owned Universities, especially the big names.
I attended a privately owned Uni first degree, and Dr. Silas was my lecturer at the private Uni before he left to become a lecturer at one of the Federal government Uni. Right from the onset, he's been bent on me furthering my education.
Another thing is, getting into a Federal University from a privately owned Uni especially one without strong academic recognition like the one I attended, is another Herculean task in my country. This is because, it is often regarded that individuals from most privately owned Universities, are not properly grounded for the academic task ahead at the Federal level.
More so, such person's will only be given due consideration if they are highly connected and their result is sound. Otherwise, they won't pass the screening stage, and that was where Dr. Silas came in for me.
He would regularly say to me that the Federal Uni where he lectures will stress me because it's not like the privately owned Uni I'm coming from.
After telling me how the Federal Uni will stress me, he would cushion the threat with, “but you have to be serious, if you put in your best, you will excel.”
So when the time for application came, he said to me, “just apply and leave the rest for me.” I did just that and got the admission.
Now, it should be worthy to note that, after getting admitted into the Uni, Dr. Silas told me it's all man for himself and I should make sure I study hard because he's not meeting any lecturer on my behalf to pass me if I fail.
The way he was sounding, he seemed not to want to be involved with my academics anymore since I got in. So I just let him be.
After not hearing from me for a while, he called me on the phone one morning and asked me to come run errands for him after lectures.
I got to his office and met him sorting out some scripts. Not to distract him, I fixed myself somewhere and got busy with my phone while I waited for him to have my time.
**FEW MINUTES LATER****
“Ese!” He called out my name as he lifted the scripts he was working on to bind them together.
He continued, “You know, I do not even know what you are up to in the department, you are just doing your thing, you are now a big girl.”
For a second there, I got confused and lost in thought. I wondered, “is this not the same man who warned me to be serious because he wouldn't want to be involved with my academics when I fail? What sort of set up is this?”
Just as I was lost in thought, his voice rang in my head again, apparently he was still talking… “Your Matriculation number I do not even know.” He paused for a brief seconds then carried on with the interrogations, “where are you even measured if I may ask?”
I responded with my face buried below, “Development, sir.”After a while, I raised my head slightly to get a glimpse of his facial expression as the room became awfully quiet. From the look on his face, I could see my response came as a shock, and he was taken aback.
He laid back on his chair, gave me a long stare with a raised eyebrow. He breathed in heavily and exhaled sharperly…. “You went to where Sharks are to swim.” After he said that, another deafening silence ensued.
Dr. Silas soon broke the silence with more questions, but this time, his voice got deeper and more coarse, “you did not see Monetary, Quantitative, Econometrics or even Project management to measure in? You went to Development where students hardly make it?”
I could not bring myself to answer any of his questions, so I just kept quiet for the whole tension to die down.
He continued, “Other People that are not close to me are running to measure in Monetary because I am there and graduating from there is easy but you! My daughter chose to do things the hard way.”
“No problem, just do not come to me for help because I cannot help you. The lecturers in that department are very brutal and not in my clique. I do not even have anyone that can approach them if the need arises, so you are on your own.”
He finished talking and asked me to leave. Apparently, there were no errands, it was just the interrogations. As I walked out of his office, I wasn't scared, I wasn't bothered, and I wasn't moved to change my mind.
Me that like a challenge? You see that thing other people say is impossible to achieve? That is what I like, they are what I love to get involved in. So Dr. Silas Chickening out from any form of lobbying for grade on my behalf did not scare me one bit.
For the duration of the program, I did not meet Dr. Silas for anything, even when I failed and went back to rewrite it.
I did study hard like my life depended on it and when I got to the end of the road, he was surprised how I managed to pull through.
Unknowingly to him, I like to be underrated, that is all the fire I need to succeed.
