OAU graduates launch #MoreToLifeCampaign as Dr Joe Abba shares his story to encourage students having difficulties

Nigerians reacted with shock and sadness at the news of 100 level Obafemi Awolowo University Student of Microbiology, Mercy Afolaranmi, who allegedly decided to end her life on Thursday October 28th 2017. Although reports going round indicate her suicide was as a result of her getting an E grade in a chemistry course, nobody can say for sure what her reasons were.

Academic failure is rampant in Nigerian Higher institutions and surely many people have had  to deal with it at certain points in their quest for a degree. Some people handle it well while some others become depressed and in some instances, suicidal.

Miss Gloria Ayeni and several colleagues from her Alma Mater took Mercy's story to heart and decided to reach out to others struggling academically and give them words of encouragement. 

They started a #MoreToLife campaign on Twitter and Instagram. Miss Ayeni (@geophummie) also reached out to ex Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Dr Joe Abah and ask him to share his own story of overcoming failure on Twitter to encourage those going through Academic challenges. 

Dr Abah shared how he gained university admission to study law at the young age of 16 and was under the misconception that attending classes regularly was enough to get good grades in exams. This error in judgement coupled with a willingness to explore his new-found freedom from his parents by leading a very active social life was surely a recipe for disaster. Needless to say, he performed poorly in his first year exams and had to re-take two courses.

Another carry-over at the end of his second year forced him to re-evaluate his performance. He eventually got a reading partner that helped him pull his GPA up and was able to graduate with a 2:2  from University and also Law school.

Although he practiced for several years, it was his discovery of the love of research during his Masters degree program and subsequent research work in Governance for his PhD that led him down his current career path.

Dr Abah concluded his story by giving advice to those experiencing academic difficulties telling them to dismiss claims that Higher Education is not necessary for success and that failure might not be from lack of knowledge but from a difference in technique required to do well in particular courses. He further encouraged people to look for those doing well in the problematic courses and ask for assistance.

Follow Dr Joe Abah (@DrJoeAbah) on Twitter to read the full thread of his story.

Written by Mojisola Abudu